Rewritten Sky
by Half-HeartedShadow
Summary: A Totodile wakes up to find himself alone in a world he has yet to discover... and hidden secrets that rise far beyond time and space... will he rise to glory or fall in defeat? My twist on Explorers of Sky.
1. After the Storm

_**Well, here's my first Pokemon fic! It's based off of Explorers of the Sky, just so you know!**_

_**Important! I can't continue writing this without a team name. So PLEASE, in your review, let me have your idea of a team name for a Totodile, a Chikorita, and eventually, a Cyndaquil! Thanks soo much to those who review!**_

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Lightning flashed and thunder roared as the storm was giving its final breaths. The shadowy Pokemon carrying its burden to the beach's edge. He wanted to do more for the one he carried, but knew that by staying he'd only cause more harm than good. So, after leaving the little Totodile by the water's edge, he fled into the night.

_Don't let them catch you..._ his final thought towards his child.

* * *

Hours passed, and the storm was finished. The child, Totodile, still asleep in the sand. A Krabby came up to him and gave him a light pinch. He instantly woke up. He looked around. _Where's Papa? I hope he didn't vanish like Mum did a while ago. I should wait for him._ And so, the child sat, waiting for his father to return.

The Krabby moved back and looked at the child strangely. Most Pokemon hate being pinched... why was this one the exception?

"Um, are you okay, kid?"

"Huh? Er, yeah. Have you seen my papa around here?"

"No, I haven't seen any Feraligatr around here."

The Totodile laughed at the Krabby. "No, my papa's not a Feraligatr, he's a Grovyle."

Krabby looked confused, but still answered, "Well, I didn't see a Grovyle here either. You sure about that, though?"

"Yep! Guess I gotta wait for him to come back again."

"Alright. But don't you want to at least go to the guild where someone can keep an eye on you?"

"Guild? What's a guild?" The Totodile asked, honestly confused.

"Your parents never told you about Wigglytuff's Guild?" The shocked Krabby asked.

"Nope!"

The Krabby scratched it's head. _This kid is strange... who honestly hasn't heard of the famous guild? Oh well. Hey! I could show him the guild and drop him off there!_ It's mouth formed bubbles of happiness. "Well, do you want to see the guild, kid?"

"But Papa might come back!"

"Don't worry. He'll know to go to the guild. If I see him come back here looking for you, then I'll tell him, okay."

"Alright..."

With that, the two went over to the famous Wigglytuff's Guild. However, on the way there, they saw a Chikorita being picked on by two poison types: a Koffing and a Zubat. They were trying to steal something from the poor grass-type.

Without thinking, the Totodile charged into action. The Krabby was left watching in amazement at the kid's stupidity.

"You okay?"

"Y-yeah."

"I'm gonna help you through this, okay." Not a question, but more of an order.

"Fine. I only got this badly hurt because of the type disadvantage, anyways!"

"Well, now it's two on two."

"You think that's gonna change your odds, wimps?" The Zubat asked mockingly.

"You don't stand a chance against us, woahoho!"

"Let's go!"

With that, the battle began. The Totodile charged for a scratch attack, but was easily bounced back by Koffing's bulk. The Chikorita ran over to try and help, but Zubat was in the way, readying a leech life. She dodged and managed a tackle. That got her over to the Totodile.

"You okay?"

"Yep." Totodile said, getting up. "Just didn't expect him to be so bouncy."

"HEY! I'm not fat!"

"I never called you fat. Just bouncy." Totodile said with a happy smirk.

_Looks like he's purposely getting Koffing upset. Might as well try that myself on Zubat._ "Hey, are you a Zubat or a flying cow?" Chikorita shouted.

Both the Zubat and Koffang looked ready to kill. Major anger issues there... The duo charged at the youngsters. Koffing tried to land a tackle, but failed and got hammered by not only a tackle, but a scratch as well. With that, the bully hit the ground and brought up some dirt on impact. "Owie..."

"Yeah!" Totodile said as he jumped in the air. He did a bit of a happy dance, which was promptly ended by Zubat hitting him with an attack.

"I wasn't finished yet!" Totodile yelled at Zubat.

"Like I care?" Zubat was getting ready to end the fight, when the duo of Totodile and Chikorita joined in for a combination of tackle and scratch again. Which, again, knocked out the bully Zubat.

The two bullies were too injured to really move, so they just layed there, waiting.

Chikorita went over to Totodile. "Thanks for helping me there. If you hadn't come, I'd have lost my Relic Fragment. So, thanks." She shook Totodile's hand with a vine and continued: "By the way, my name's Stillbreeze. What's yours?"

"Sevek. And you're pretty tough for a girl."

Stillbreeze whipped Sevek against the head. Sevek whined about his head hurting and what he said being a compliment. He rubbed his head.

Krabby walked up to the two. "You two are pretty strong, taking on those bullies by yourselves."

"They weren't that strong, you know." Stillbreeze said with her head held high.

"Then why were you losing so badly before I came?" Sevek asked a little less than innocently.

Stillbreeze whacked him upside the head again. Krabby continued. "You two would probably do well in Wigglytuff's Guild, you know?"

"I don't know... from what I heard, Wigglytuff is kinda... creepy. I don't think I'd want to be taught how to fight by a freak." Again, with the huffy attitude.

"Hey... what about those two bullies? What are we gonna do with them?" Sevek asked. When they looked back, they noticed that the bullies had bolted while no one was looking.

"Wait!" Sevek started. "They can teach you how to fight? That's cool!" He started a little happy dance, "now I really do want to go there! I can learn to fight so I can help Papa out! Yay! Yay!" He slipped up in his happy dance and fell on his butt. "Oof! Haha!"

_He's really weird. But, he may be right about learning to fight better. I got beaten too easily in that fight. I guess I just need to learn more... regardless of who the teacher is._She looked up at Krabby and Sevek. "Okay, I guess I'll go too, just to keep you out of trouble, Sevek."

"Awesome!"

So, settling that, the trio walked over past Treasure Town and made it to the famous Wigglytuff's Guild.

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Well, I hope you like my revision of Explorers of the Sky! Please review so I can continue the story! REMEMBER! I NEED A TEAM NAME FOR A TOTODILE, CHIKORITA, AND A CYNDAQUIL! Thanks for reading and PLEASE review! I can't continue without your reviews!

_**I guess I'll consider the team naming a contest. Winner's team name choice gets used! You'll also have my eternal gratitude for even entering.**_


	2. The Newbies Arrive

_**Thank you to the only contestant in my contest, loveforwriting! If they hadn't reviewed, I'd had to go with one of my mom's ridiculous names... so thanks for letting everyone avoid that agony!**_

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"Well, this is it." Krabby said, pointing to the very large building shaped like a Wigglytuff. Two lit torches guarded the building's flanks. Two totem polls were located in front of the two torches. On one, there were: a Hoothoot, an Anorith, and a Noctowl. On the other were: An Aipom, a Duskull, and a Zigzagoon. The door to the guild was closed by metal bars, however, preventing anyone from going in. There was a grate made from wooden bars placed in front of the closed door.

"You have to step on the grate and let them see your footprints before they'll let you in. I think it's called 'footprint evaluation of character' or something like that. I hope you two have some good luck. And hopefully, you'll end up as a respectable Exploration Team." Krabby said as it scuttled away.

Stillbreeze huffed at that remark. Her golden eyes shined in defiance. "Hopefully? Yeah right! If we're going through with this, then we're gonna be the best!"

"Yep!" Sevek did a few steps from his happy dance. Left, left, right, spin, jump! His blue eyes couldn't look happier even if someone tried to get them to.

"Well, I guess I'll stand on the grate first." Stillbreeze said, looking fairly calm. She walked the short distance to from where she was standing to the grate and stayed as still as she could.

A voice cut out from seemingly nowhere: "Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected!"

A much louder, yet seemingly more far off voice yelled: "Whose footprint? Whose footprint?"

The first voice answered: "The footprint is Chikorita's! The footprint is Chikorita's!"

_Do they really need to repeat everything they say? That's kind of annoying..._Stillbreeze thought.

After a little while longer, the second, more obnoxious voice cut into the silence: "You may ENTER! Someone's with you! We know THAT! So get them them up here STAT!"

Stillbreeze walked off the grate and looked towards Sevek. "I guess they mean you. You'd better step up now while you still can."

"Yep yep! The thing looks weird, but oh well!"

"Stranger, get on the GRATE already!"

"Ya don't have to be mean, I'm coming already!" Sevek yelled back as he walked onto the grate.

The first voice yelled: "Pokemon detected! Pokemon detected!"

_Not this again... They already knew Sevek was here, so why bother with the 'Pokemon detected' junk?_

"Whoose footprint? Whoose footprint?"

"The footprint is... The footprint is... I'm not sure."

"WHAT do you mean you're not sure, Diglett!"

"Well... for one, I'm about twenty feet away from the footprint looking into the sun. And for two, I can't identify what I don't normally see."

"That's crummy. Your guess...?"

"Maybe Totodile's. Maybe Totodile's." The little mole Pokemon said from his hole.

Back at the top of the grate, Sevek started getting bored of standing and decided to sit down and listen to the argument. Stillbreeze followed suit beside the grate. After a few moments of silence, they heard Diglett call up.

"Hey, could you please not sit on the grate. I'd rather not be mooned."

"Sorry!" Sevek called down as he jumped up. When he jumped up, however, part of the grate gave way and he ended up falling on Diglett.

Well, Diglett had good news and bad news now. The good news was that his guess was right: the second visitor was in fact, a Totodile. The bad news was that he was now being crushed by the weight of said guest.

"Sevek! Are you okay?" Stillbreeze called down.

"Sentry! What happened?"

"No worries, Stillbreeze! Something soft broke my fall!" Sevek said, getting off of the poor Diglett. Sevek looked up. _Wow! Can't believe I fell from that high up! No wonder Diglett couldn't identify my footprint! By the way..._ Sevek thought, looking around the tunnel, _where is Diglett?_

Diglett popped up from the ground. "Yes, I'm fine." He called out to the other sentry Pokemon.

"Good. What happened?"

"Part of the grate broke when the Totodile jumped up from sitting down. He accidentally fell down on me."

"Sorry, Diglett." Sevek said, looking at the little mole Pokemon. "Hope I didn't squish you by mistake."

"Don't worry about it." Diglett smiled, "That just means we need to fix the grate and evaluate the Pokemon above ground for a while. Trust me, it's fine with me."

"Okay!" Sevek started a happy dance, but found there wasn't enough room. "Gee, it's really cramped down here, isn't it?"

"Yep. That's why they use smaller Pokemon for the job. My partner probably wouldn't fit down here so easily."

"I see." Sevek nodded.

"You don't seem like a bad Pokemon, so just follow me to get in the guild. When we're out of the tunnel, my partner will guide you to the upper level of the guild, okay?"

"Yep!"

To Stillbreeze, Diglett said, "Don't worry about your friend. He'll meet up with you later, okay. My partner will open the locked area for you." With that, the barred door was opened and Stillbreeze walked in. Diglett asked Sevek to follow him and they both reached the mid section of the guild shortly.

The two were now reunited as Sevek's guide vanished down the steps of the guild to continue his senty duty.

Looking around, they noticed many Pokemon around them. There was: a Bidoof, a Sunflora, a Seedot, and a Pidgey to the right. To the left, was: a Wurple, a Swellow, a Ledyba, a Togepi, and a Politoed. So many Pokemon in one place!

Walking further into the room, Sevek and Stillbreeze started talking about the Pokemon around them. Some looked strong, some looked weak; some looked timid, some looked brave. All, however, were part of Exploration Teams. Stillbreeze gave a quick explanation of an Exploration Team to Sevek, as he'd never heard of them before, and earned a quick "yep! And we're gonna be the best!"

A sing-songy voice interrupted the two from continuing their conversation. "Excuse me," a colorful bird Pokemon with a head shaped like an eighth note came up to them. "You two just came in, right?"

"Yep!" Sevek said quickly.

"Then hello. I'm Chatot. I'm the Pokemon to go to if you have a need for information." He sung. "I am also Guildmaster Wigglytuff's right-hand Pokemon." His attitude switched from happy to serious. "Now go. We don't have time for whatever it is you want to do."

"That's mean!" Sevek started. "We just wanted to come here to learn from Wigglytuff!"

"Yeah, we came here to become an Exploration Team! Not be lectured by some pompous music note!" Stillbreeze said angrily.

Nodding, Chatot said, "fine. Good luck with the training."

"Why? Is it hard?"

"N-no! I didn't mean it in any snide way! Not at all!"

"Snide...?" Sevek looked confused. Well, he was still just a little kid, so he shouldn't be expected to be a genius.

Chatot was getting ready to give a long-winded explanation, when Stillbreeze cut in, "let's just leave it at 'it's not too nice'. Okay."

"Okay!"

_Well then. If they're going to become apprentices, they've really got a lot to learn. I just hope they aren't as slow as the last apprentice we got._He looked over to the Bidoof. "Well, if you want to start an Exploration Team, then you have to get signed up as one. Follow me." Chatot started walking to the stairs, followed by Sevek and Stillbreeze.

Downstairs, Chatot said, "welcome to the underground floor. This is where our apprentices work, eat, and sleep."

"Wow. All that in one room... Cool!" His remark was met with a quick whip to the head, courtesy of Stillbreeze.

"You do realize there are _paths_ leading to the _other rooms_, right?"

Sevek looked around... sure enough, there were. "Sorry!"

Chatot groaned on the inside. _Please tell me you aren't another Bidoof!_"If you look this way, you'll find the Exploration Team registration." He pointed to a door with a weird C-ish symbol.

"Cool!" Sevek started, Chatot braced himself for more idiocy, "Whoever decided to build the guild like this was really thinking! I mean, how often do you see underground guilds with outdoor light! The idea of building it on a cliff for light was really great!"

That outburst shocked Chatot. _Thank Arceus! He's not another Bidoof!_"Y-yes! It is, isn't it." Then going to the door with the weird symbol on it, he said, "here's Guildmaster Wiggltuff's room. Do _not_ be discourteous to him. You do _not_ want the consequences of that."

Sevek looked ready to ask another question, but Stillbreeze stopped him in advance. "Just be good."

"Yep!"

Chatot announced their arrival to the guildmaster and opened the door. When they entered, they noticed a pink Pokemon with its back turned in their direction.

"Where's his face!" Sevek asked, running over to Wigglytuff.

Wigglytuff turned around saying, "right here, friendly friend!" Both Sevek and Wigglytuff broke out into laughter. Stillbreeze and Chatot groaned.

"Er, Guildmaster. These two would like to become apprentices."

"Okay! Well, you probably guessed by now, but I'm Wigglytuff, the guildmaster here!" He said with joy.

"Yay!" Sevek cheered.

"Yep. You said you wanted to form an Exploration Team, right? Then let's start it! But, to have a Team, you need a Team name. Soo..." Wigglytuff and Chatot watched as Sevek walked back to Stillbreeze and the two gave a quick chat. When they turned around, Sevek said the name they'd come up with.

"We're Team Sky!"

"Alright then! I'll register you two as Exploration Team Sky! Registering! Registering! Done... and... YOOM... TAH!" Wigglytuff sent out a Hyper Voice for his 'yoom tah!'. "Congrats! From now on, you'll be treated as an official Exploration Team!"

"Yeah!"

"Yay!" Sevek started his happy dance and managed to complete it for once.

"Here's a gift to start your new Team off with!" Wigglytuff placed a box in front of the two young Pokemon. Stillbreeze opened it and found that inside the box was: an Explorer Badge, a Wonder Map, and a Treasure Bag.

"Great! Awesome! Thanks Wigglytuff!" Sevek said joyously.

"Yep! Just be sure not to lose anything! Especially not your Badge! You need that to prove you two are explorers. You also need that in any missions you finish. Your Badge is your I.D., in a sense."

"Yep! Don't lose it!"

"Right!"

Stillbreeze and Chatot only looked at each other for mental support.

"Then, you also have your Map and Treasure Bag. Both are very useful during explorations! You get a bigger Treasure Bag when you start having more successes as an Exploration Team! Your Badge will also upgrade from Normal Rank to Bronze Rank and so on!"

"That's incredible! Thanks! Thanks!"

"Yep!"

"We'll do our best, Wigglytuff!" Sevek and Stillbreeze said simultaneously.

"Yep! But you're only apprentices... so do your best to train!"

"We will!"

"You can bet on that!"

"Yup, well, Chatot."

"Follow me, Team Sky." Chatot said as he left the room. They followed him until they reached a room with two hay beds. "This is your room!"

"That's good!"

"Thanks Chatot!"

"Yes, well, you'll live here while you work for us. Get a good night's sleep, because tomorrow, things will start getting busy." With that, Chatot left the room. Sevek took the bed closest to the wall, while Stillbreeze took the bed close to the entryway.

The two soon fell asleep.

The next morning, Sevek and Stillbreeze were enjoying their sleep, when a Pokemon with a big mouth walked in their room. "HEY WAKE UP ALREADY!" He shouted.

"Huh!"

"Owie..."

"WAKE UP! I'M NOT GETTING IN TROUBLE BECAUSE YOU TWO SLEPT IN! YOU CAN JUST DEAL WITH WIGGLYTUFF'S ANGER! By the way, my name's Loudred."

"Urk. Loud voice..." Sevek said.

"Y-yeah. No doubt about that. Ah! I forgot! We need to get to the briefing now! We can't be late on our first day here!"

"Yipe! Forgot, too!" And so, the two dashed off.

When they made it to the main room, they noticed that among the apprentices, were: the Sunflora and Bidoof they saw yesterday, that loudmouth, Loudred, Diglett, a Dugtrio, a Chimecho, a Corfish, and a Crogunk, excluding themselves.

"You're late." Loudred said, pointing.

"Oh really? Then why isn't Wigglytuff here?" Stillbreeze retorted.

"Hmph!"

"Well, now that everyone is here... Guildmaster!"

Wigglytuff came walking out of his room. His eyes were unblinking.

Chatot faced him and asked him to give his words of wisdom.

Wigglytuff just snored at them. A thin line of drool going down his mouth.

"That's great," Stillbreeze whispered, "he can be asleep, but we have to be up. Nice."

"Don't even try to understand it." Diglett whispered back.

"I think it's funny!" Sevek whispered happily.

"You think everything's funny."

"Well, at least I've got a sense of humor."

"Now for our morning cheers!" Chatot said.

Sevek and Stillbreeze just listened. The apprentices started, "One! Don't shirk work! Two! Run away and pay! Three! Smiles go for miles!"

"Okay, let's get to work!"

"Hurray!" With that, they all went to their designated posts. Sevek and Stillbreeze were clueless on where to go. So, they tried to go back to their room, but were stopped by Chatot and led upstairs for their first mission.

Before Chatot gave them their first mission, they were made aware of why so many bad Pokemon were cropping up. Something was going screwy with the force of time. Because of the mess up there, more bad Pokemon started to appear.

Then, came the mission: retrieve a Pokemon named Spoink's pearl. The location was a place called Drenched Bluff. Of course, the duo complained about it being too easy for them, which they were scolded for with some rather choice words. They were forced on the mission regardless of their choice.

* * *

After they got Spoink's pearl back, they went back to the guild. Spoink was waiting for them in front of the board. She was slightly roughed up with some minor injuries, but energetically put the pearl back on her head.

"Thanks so much!"

"No prob!"

Team Sky was rewarded with a Protein, an Iron, and a Calcium! They also got two thousand poke! But...

"Hand over the poke, if you will."

"WHAT! But we earned it!"

"True, but most of the poke earned by the teams goes to the Guildmaster for giving them the ability to operate."

"So how much do we get to keep?"

"About... ten percent."

"So, we only get two hundred poke insted of the two thousand we got paid, huh?" Sevek said. "Whatever. It just makes me happy to see Spoink's happy, roughed up face!"

"Dinner time!" Chimecho called from downstairs.

Everyone gathered around in the Mess Hall and ate Chimecho's delicious food. After dinner, they washed up and went to bed...

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Wow, really long chapter there. Just playing through in the game... it doesn't seem that long, does it? Thanks again to loveforwriting for being the only person to enter my contest! The name just seemed so perfect!

By the way... Sevek is Level 8. So is Stillbreeze, just so you all know!

_**Thanks for reading and PLEASE REVIEW!**_


	3. The Outlaw Persian

_**Well, here's chapter three of Rewritten Sky! Enjoy and Review! The changes start in this chapter, just so you know.**_

**_Okay, I also revised this chapter to add some new descriptions and changed the rating for some more bloody fighting._**

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The annoyingly loud alarm clock of a Loudred woke up Stillbreeze and Sevek again the next morning. The duo decided they didn't want to be late again, so they dashed off for the morning address. It was the same as yesterday's, so the duo joined in this time. After Chatot dismissed everyone, he noticed that the members of Team Sky were just standing around. He had them follow him, yet again, to the mid section of the guild were the jobs were posted.

"Why did we join again?" Stillbreeze whispered to Sevek as Chatot rambled on about things neither Pokemon cared about.

"To learn how to fight," Sevek answered quietly.

"So why are we doing all these random jobs then?"

"No idea. I'm just going along with it."

Stillbreeze sighed and turned her golden eyes on Chatot again. Sevek followed suit with his blue eyes.

"Now, what's different from today then yesterday?" Chatot drilled them.

"The absence of breakfast?" Stillbreeze asked.

"No."

"The fact that we're the only ones on this floor?" Sevek answered. In truth, they _were_ the only ones there.

"Yes, but besides that."

The duo looked around quickly and noticed that there was another board to their left, while yesterday's other board had been on the right.

"We're doing a different kind of job today, right?"

"Correct!" Chatot sang. "The other board is for rescue missions or occasionally treasure hunts. This board is for..."

Looking at the board, Stillbreeze saw pictures of Pokemon. They looked pretty tough in their pictures. However, Sevek was the one to answer this time.

"Outlaws, right?"

"Yep. These Pokemon are all wanted for various crimes. Some are just petty thieves... while others... have committed murders or worse."

"What's worse than killing someone?" Stillbreeze and Sevek asked together. Both Pokemon looking slightly confused and very disturbed.

"You'll find out when we let you take them on. But only when you two are a whole lot stronger. Don't worry about them for now."

"Okay..."

"I get it. It's pretty much bounty hunting jobs over here. Cool!" Sevek said happily. Well, maybe a bit too happily.

"It isn't something to be happy about, Sevek!" The colorful bird squawked. Sevek was reprimanded by Stillbreeze's whip and Chatot's wing hitting him in the head.

"Sorry... I wasn't happy about there being outlaws... I was just happy to understand." He said, rubbing his injured head.

"Yes, well. Let me finish," Chatot said, still losing the steam of his anger. "Along with catching them, you also get a cash reward for turning them in to Officer Magnezone."

"Alright. That sounds fair."

"Just as long as the jobs don't kill us, we'll be fine!" Sevek pronounced.

"Good," Chatot nodded, "I'll let you choose your outlaw, then. But, please prepare for a tough fight, regardless, as you two aren't exactly the strongest Pokemon out there." With that, Chatot left.

The duo looked at each other. They were thinking about the same thing: _He's giving us the perfect opportunity to get some sleep! What a sucker!_Well, unfortunately for them, Chatot expected something like this, so he'd sent Bidoof to make sure they weren't shirking their work. As soon as Bidoof made it up the stairs, the duo had heard him, so they started making a fake argument about which outlaw to target.

"No, I say that Lickilicky!"

"Are you crazy? That's an S rank outlaw! We should stay small for now and go for an E or D rank outlaw!"

"Okay, so how about that Persian?"

"No, no, no! I said E or D, not B!"

"E, D, B, they all sound alike you know!"

"Sevek, how about we go after that Rhyhorn. It's a low ranked outlaw and we'd have a type advantage."

"Too easy! I want a challenge!"

Bidoof finally made it all the way up the stairs. "Hello. Chatot sent me up here to make sure everything's okay. Do you need help with anything?"

Scratching his head, Sevek said, "I guess we'd need help to figure out which outlaw to target. Wanna help?"

"Sure!" They decided it would be best to go after the Ryhorn that Stillbreeze pointed out earlier, despite Sevek's whining. "Now, if I were you two, I'd go to Treasure Town to prepare. You never know when an outlaw's got a few extra tricks up their sleeve."

Nodding, Stillbreeze led the way to Treasure Town. She told Sevek about all the shops they'd probably need, and they got prepared for their outlaw mission. They also greeted the other teams and apprentices. They'd met up with Team Seedgey, Corphish, Sunflora, Team Tasty, Team Ebony, and Vigoroth. They'd also met the shop owners as well.

Stillbreeze managed the money, which was a good thing, because at the Kecleon Market, Kecleon was trying to sell something completely useless and Sevek wanted it. Instead, they ended up buying an apple and a blast seed. Stillbreeze explained that it would be smarter to bring those items in case of emergency.

Well, just when they were ready to leave, they saw a Persian grab hold of a Cyndaquil and bolt off. They heard a cry for help from Marill and Azurill. "Someone! Anyone! Please help him!"

Sevek smiled and said, "Looks like we're going after that Persian anyways."

"Oh, shut-it!" Stillbreeze said as they both ran over to the scene of the crime. "What happened?"

"W-we were just playing with o-our b-brother w-when that Pokemon attacked us and took him away. We can't take on that Persian by ourselves, though. Will you help us?"

"Of course we will!" Sevek exclaimed. "Don't worry! Team Sky is on the case now! Let's go, Stillbreeze!"

So, the two dashed off in pursuit of the Persian. Persian, after a while, noticed he was being chased and dashed off in tree-filled areas to lose his pursuers. Well, it worked. Sevek and Stillbreeze had no idea where Persian had run off to.

Panting, the duo stopped running and sat down for a moment. They were somewhat lost in a thick forest. The grass was a dark, shady green, the trees fit the definition of a thick forest, and the afternoon heat was coming through the canopy. There was a faint wind rolling through the forest. The footprints the duo had been following had disappeared completely. Where they were sitting, was a small clearing. A couple of stumps sat proudly. A small amount of sunlight made its way through the canopy as well.

"We lost him."

"I know that."

"Great job."

"You can stop being so sarcastic, Stillbreeze!"

"Your idea to go after Persian. Your fault."

Kicking a pebble, Sevek looked pretty down. "Our first outlaw mission and we lose the outlaw. That Cyndaquil's gonna be really badly hurt or worse now."

Noticing the change in Sevek's attitude, Stillbreeze went over to him and put a vine on his shoulder. "At least we tried."

"And we failed."

"Look, Sevek-" She couldn't finish her sentence, because what seemed to be a vision came on her.

_She saw Persian run to a rocky area. A mountain! It looked rather jagged and dangerous. She also saw that Persian was going to start attacking the poor Cyndaquil for some unknown reason._

The vision ended. "Sevek, get out our Wonder Map, please."

"Why, do you have an idea?"

"Yep. Call me crazy, but I think I just saw the future."

"That's great! Then we can find out where Cyndaquil is and...!"

"Yep!" Looking quickly at the map, she pointed to a mountain labeled 'Mt. Bristle'. "That's where I saw them."

"Then let's go!" With that, the duo ran off towards Mt. Bristle. They fought the enraged inhabitants all the way up to the peak of the mountain. The wind was howling off the jagged rocks and boulders. Near the far wall leading off the edge of the mountain was a small indent. Before the indent, they saw Persian getting ready to attack Cyndaquil. They also noted that this Cyndaquil's pelt looked intriguing. Instead of the usual, white and blue, it was white and green. The poor kid was crying in fear.

"Now that we dropped that Exploration Team, how about we get down to business?" Persian showed its fangs, further scaring the Cyndaquil.

"Don't think you dropped us yet, Persian!" Sevek yelled. Cyndaquil looked up and saw Team Sky about five feet away. "Just let Cyndaquil go, Persian. We don't want to have to hurt you."

"Tough! 'Cause I feel like doing this! You two pipsqueaks can be next if you want, though."

"Then I guess we have no choice but to fight you." Stillbreeze said. "Sevek, let's win this!"

"Yeah!"

Persian lunged after the two of them. They split and used Razor Leaf and Water Gun on its flanks. They smirked. That must have done a lot of damage! But Persian just stood there, completely unfazed by the dual attack.

"What?"

"How?"

"You really expected your little attacks to do much of _anything_ to me? You two are even weaker than I thought. I'll show you a _real _attack!" Persian lunged out at Sevek, using Fury Swipes. It hit hard and Sevek nearly passed out from the attack. His front was slightly bloody from the attack. Not very deep, but very painful. Persian turned to Stillbreeze and did the same. She tried to dodge, but Persian was much too fast. She too, ended up badly injured and slightly bloody from Persian's attack. Pretty much, as soon as the fight began, Team Sky had lost. Blood slightly colored the neutral colored ground crimson.

The two laid on the rocky ground, unable to get back on their feet. They watched in horror when Persian turned his attention back to his original prey. Cyndaquil cried out in pain as Persian bit him, then tossed him into a large boulder. Persian started to leave the scene, leaving the three to die. But, when Persian turned back just once to bask in his deed, he noticed his mistake. Those three Pokemon had the abilities: Overgrow, Torrent, and Blaze, which meant that since their endurance was low, their powers were largely increased.

The power cloaks came on the three, and they managed to stand back up. Sevek covered in a blue energy, Stillbreeze covered in a green energy, and Cyndaquil covered in his red energy. They were all weary, so Persian figured he'd just end their pitiful existences there. He went back to finish them, when he was hit by a super-charged combination attack. Ember, Razor Leaf, and Water Gun all hit him on the head in one very powerful strike. Persian, too injured by his newly aquired cuts, burns, and overall injuries, passed out. A fairly small amount of blood trickled from his head injury.

"St-Stillbreeze. C-can y-you get us... some Oran Berries... please." Sevek said, sitting down, as he had no power left in his legs to hold him up.

"S-sure." She pulled out three Oran Berries and threw one to Sevek and one to Cyndaquil. She too, fell from exhuastion. They noticed Cyndaquil looked just as tired as they did, too.

They all ate the berries and immediately felt the relief. Their power cloaks faded away as well.

"Thanks for saving me." Cyndaquil said, happy that he wasn't killed or eaten by Persian.

"Yeah, just part of the job!" Sevek said, scratching the back of his head.

"See why we should have started off a little easier, Sevek?" Stillbreeze mentioned in a matter-of-fact way.

"Yeah, but if we hadn't gone after Persian, then Cyndaquil here wouldn't be here."

"Actually, my name's Ragarth."

"Cool. Let's get back to the guild. I think we already missed dinner." The three Pokemon got up and Sevek started dragging Persian down the mountain by the tail. He really didn't care if the outlaw got hurt by the sharp rocks or not.

So, the three made the long trek back to Wigglytuff's Guild, accompanied by the fainted Persian being yanked by the tail by Sevek and Ragarth. They stopped and rested while they were back in the forest. Ragarth made a campfire and Stillbreeze got out some apples that they'd found on the way. Night was quickly approaching. The gentle wind was starting to gain a new chill to it, causing the three Pokemon to stay near the campfire. Persian started to wake up, so Sevek used the Blast Seed they'd bought earlier and sent Persian back to unconsciousness. The outlaw also aquired some exciting new burns on his chest and face.

After about an hour of resting, they started back to the guild again. It was sunrise by the time they'd made it back to the general area. Because Persian was so heavy, they took turns dragging him, rotating in a relatively fair way. They stopped at a building shaped like a Magnezone and knocked on the door. A Magnemite opened the door and greeted them.

"BZZ! Hello. May I ask why you decided to come to Magnezone's Jail? BZZ!"

"We brought Persian, the outlaw."

"BZZ! I see. Thank you for capturing him for us. BZZ!" Magnemite led them to a jail cell where they put Persian in. The door was then locked and the four Pokemon went to a desk area in the jail. Magnemite pulled out three thousand Poke and let them stay there until they were rested up. The thought that stayed with Sevek and Stillbreeze was: _we are NOT sharing this Poke with the guild! If Chatot asks, we lost it._ They then left for Wigglytuff's Guild. When they made it, they'd noticed that everyone seemed relieved to find the rookies were alright.

Everyone was looking at the three injured Pokemon with concern. Loudred, Sunflora, Corphish, and Chimecho were standing behind Wigglytuff and Chatot. Diglett, Dugtrio, Croagunk, and Bidoof were slightly behind the group prior.

"Where were you two!" Chatot squawked.

"Uh, we caught Persian." Sevek offered weakly.

"I was informed you two were going after Rhyhorn!"

"Well, uh, we were, but then we saw Persian kidnap someone and we had to-"

"Persian was a rank B outlaw! You two could have been killed!"

"Sorry Chatot..."

"Hey, Chatot. Don't punish Team Sky. They saved my life. If they hadn't chased Persian to Mt. Bristle, I wouldn't be alive right now." Ragarth explained everything that happened during Team Sky's absence.

"I see. Go have Chimecho tend to your wounds. Next time this happens... and Arceus forbid it from actually happening again... just ask a stronger team, okay?" Chatot said with a weary expression. _Why must these new recruits act out so much? It's almost as bad as when we got Bidoof in the beginning._

"Yes Chatot."

"Glad to see my friendly friends are okay!" Wigglytuff cut in. "You three are probably famished and tired. After your wounds are treated, get some food in you and take the day off."

"Th-thanks Wigglytuff!" Sevek and Stillbreeze exclaimed.

"Yep!"

"Er... Wigglytuff." Ragarth said looking slightly embarrassed. His left arm was clutching his right arm in a nervous manner.

"Yes, Ragarth?"

"I was wondering if I could join Team Sky. When Team Sky saved me from Persian, I felt the urge to help them out, too. So if it's okay... could I join Team Sky and learn from you, too?"

"Fine by me! Stillbreeze? Sevek? It's your team after all." Wigglytuff looked happy to have made a new friendly friend.

"Absolutely!" They both said. "You'd be a great addition to the team!"

"Th-thanks!" All the members of Team Sky, old and new, looked insanely happy with the new developments. A day off and a new team member! What luck!

So, after having their wounds tended to, they took the rest of the day off. All three members of Team Sky.

_**

* * *

**_

Well, tell me, how was the chapter? Please review!

_**Sevek: Level 10 **_

_**Stillbreeze: Level 10 **_

_**Ragarth: Level 10**_

_**I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**_


	4. Ragarth's Doubts

_**Well, here I go again!~~ Not much to really put into this chapter, so don't think badly of a shortish chapter. Oh! Sorry for not updating in about... forever. First, lot's of storms kept putting out my power, then I couldn't get to my computer because of family issues (they wouldn't give me a free moment!), and then school popped up. Sorry for the inconvenience. Don't you dare think I'd abandon this!**_

* * *

A new bed was placed inside of Team Sky's room. A new bed for their new team member, Ragarth. The little green Cyndaquil was overjoyed at being accepted into Team Sky. But, first things first... he still needed to tell Marill and Azurill that he was okay... and that he was staying with Team Sky at the guild.

_I hope they'll understand,_ he thought sadly. He slowly paced his new room, observing its sandstone walls. He stopped in front of the window, seeing the bright blue sky. Only a few clouds floated lazily in the sun-warmed sky. _They've always treated me like a brother but... I know for a fact that I can't be... And Azumarill, she's always thought of me as a son. But I know she knows I'm not. As soon as Sevek or Stillbreeze comes back... I'll see if I can leave to tell Azumarill thank-you... and good-bye... at least for now._

He walked back to his bed and laid down on his back, watching the puffy clouds float along through the window. His rarely seen sapphire eyes watching for some inspiration. _And Team Sky... what will they think of keeping me when they find out I really can't fight? That that Ember was just plain luck... that my endurance is low... that my fire is weak... I hope they'll still keep me on the team when they find out eventually._

Just then, the sound of Sevek's happy footsteps came upon the little Cyndaquil. When Sevek walked into their room, Ragarth noticed some of his injuries from Persian were bound, much like his own. A pang of guilt went through Ragarth. _You did this to Sevek and Stillbreeze by not being strong enough to save yourself._A voice in the back of his head accused. Ragarth got up and walked over to the jolly Totodile.

Sevek, noticing the strange sorrow surrounding his new friend, put a hand on Ragarth's shoulder and asked, "What's wrong, Ragarth?" Sevek's concerned blue eyes drilling a further hole of guilt in Ragarth's heart. "You seem, well, sad."

"Yeah... I- it's nothing Sevek, don't worry."

"Why shouldn't I worry about you? You're my friend."

A thought came into Ragarth's mind. "Er- are you and Stillbreeze really okay with having me as a teammate?"

Looking shocked, Sevek answered, "I know for a fact that I didn't need a second more than what I used to say 'yes'. Why do you ask? I mean, just look at how well you did against Persian! You were great!" Sevek said proudly.

"But... what if I wasn't so strong? Would you've still let me on the team?"

"Of course! It doesn't matter if you're not strong now. That's why we're here, right? To learn to be strong from Wigglytuff and Chatot?"

_Come to think of it... yeah. It is... I think I'll at least tell Sevek for now..._"That's good to know. Thanks Sevek. But, there's something else too."

"What is it?"

"I wanted to tell you that I'm not really as strong as you think."

"Well, you're the strongest Cyndaquil I know."

"But... aren't I the _only _Cyndaquil you know?"

"Yeah, but... who cares? I don't! Ha!" Sevek laughed. "But, what else did you want me to know?"

"Well, it's just that... I'm not strong in the least. My fire is weak and so is my endurance. So, I thought maybe you and Stillbreeze blamed me for the Persian problem..."

"Ragarth, that's a stupid thing to think! I wanted to go after Persian anyways! So, without you, Stillbreeze and I could've gotten even more injuries." Looking somewhat somber, he also added, "without you, we probably wouldn't be here now."

That shocked Ragarth. All this time... he'd thought he was the reason Team Sky had taken such a beating... and yet... here was Team Sky's leader, telling him that they probably would have died without his help. It was a lot for the Cyndaquil to take in all at once. "Do- do you really mean that, Sevek?"

"Yep! Even if you were the weakest out of all three of us... without your little bit, we would have been killed. So don't you dare think you're too weak to be part of our team. Don't you dare think that Persian attacking you was your fault. We'll get stronger together. I promise you I'll get stronger as a leader if you promise me you'll work hard to be a great partner!"

Ragarth started crying out of happiness. He gave Sevek a bit of a hug, thanking him for being there for him. Sevek smiled and calmed down the little guy. "No problem!" he said, patting Ragarth on the back.

"Oh! Sevek!"

"Yeah?"

"I almost forgot! I wanted to ask to see if I could see Azurill, Marill, and Azumarill."

"Heh, sure. But, I wanna come to! It'd be nice to see your little brothers and mum. We should probably wait for Stillbreeze, too."

"Alright. Thanks Sevek. I'm glad you're our leader."

Sevek laughed a bit, then: "yeah, just imagine Stillbreeze as leader!"

The two burst out into laughter. Unfortunately for them, Stillbreeze chose that moment to walk in on them. She looked unhappily towards them, her yellow eyes blazing with anger towards the two boys. "What's so funny about that?"

"Uh, er.."

"Um..."

She starting whipping them on the heads with her vines. The outcome was simply, Sevek complaining about his head, Ragarth clutching his head, and Stillbreeze catching her breath, as the two boys had tackled her. When given the opportunity to see Ragarth's family, she agreed, and thus, the team headed out for the house near the river.

Upon arriving, the trio noticed the deep green grass and calm clear waters. The house was a simple light wooded color. On the door, was a picture of an Azumarill. This was it.

Ragarth walked ahead of Sevek and Stillbreeze and knocked on the door. After a few seconds, Marill and Azurill answered it. They gasped when they saw Ragarth. "You're- you're okay!"

"You're back big brother!"

"Yeah... I need to talk to Mom, okay?"

"Yep!" Azurill bounced into the house, followed by Marill and Ragarth, then Sevek and Stillbreeze.

The house looked fairly small on the inside. A table, some chairs, and a picture were in the first room. The second room was the bedroom. An Azumarill was resting in one of the beds. She didn't look to well off. Azurill bounced over to his mother and woke her up. "Mum! Ragarth's home! Ragarth's home!"

Azumarill stirred and looked up. A weak smile made its way on her mouth. "Good to see you're still okay, Ragarth."

"Yeah."

"Yep! Team Sky saved him from that mean Persian!"

"Then, thank you Team Sky. Thank you for keeping Ragarth safe."

"No problem. That's our job, ya know!" Sevek said happily.

"Mom... I know I should have checked in sooner... but..."

"You joined Team Sky?"

"You knew?"

"Call it a Mother's intuition. And anyways, I'm just glad you chose wisely on who to join. Don't let me ever hear you join a bunch of baddies, got it?"

"You know I wouldn't dream of that Mom."

"Good. Be sure to visit when you can. Okay?"

"Sure thing! Thanks Mom!"

After their visit, the trio headed back to the guild for some rest. The next day, after the morning address, Diglett and Loudred called the trio over to the sentry post.

Loudred looked frustrated. Diglet looked concerned. "WELL. I brought Team SKY like you ASKED for Diglett."

"Yes, thank you Loudred. Sorry, but I've got to take over Dad's job today. So I was wondering if you'd take over for me."

Sevek answered for all three of them. "Why not?"

"Thanks Sevek. All you three have to do is figure out who's footprint it is. Loudred will do the rest." With that he burrowed off.

The sentry duty went by fairly quickly, considering it was an all day job. After that was dinner, then sleep.

* * *

In a forest, a shadowy Pokemon ran, accompanied by a dark flying type Pokemon soaring next to it. The moon's gleam revealed the flying Pokemon to be a dark Staravia, and the other Pokemon to be a dark Grovyle. The duo sped through the dark, cool forest, knocking out any Pokemon dumb enough to block their path.

No words were said between the two. And within the hour, they were at the forest's depths. The Staravia landed next to the Grovyle. "This is it?"

The Grovyle walked up to the hidden alter. It glowed a soft green color. In the middle of it, was a small green gear with ancient inscriptions on it.

Grovyle nodded. He quickly took the Time Gear and the duo fled once more into the night. Time quickly freezing behind them. The color fading to a dull grey. The dewdrops being formed just hung there, suspended. The winds were stopping as well. Time around the forest would soon come to a complete standstill.

At a safe distance, the two looked at the forest frozen in time. No other words passed between them. They fled to their next destination.

_**

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**_

Sevek: Level 11, he knows Leer, Scratch, Water Gun, and Rage.

_**Stillbreeze: Level 11, she knows Tackle, Growl, Razor Leaf, and Poisonpowder.**_

_**Ragarth: Level 11, he knows Tackle, Leer, Smokescreen, and Ember.**_

_**I hope you enjoyed and please Review!**_


	5. Training for Glory

_**Sorry for not updating in like… seven months! I was extremely busy doing school stuff and life stuff… so yeah. No excuse.**_

_**Please review!**_

* * *

Night fell, and with it, the Pokémon in the guild got ready for bed as well. As for Team Sky, they went to their stone-walled room and lay down in their straw beds. The moon's light filtered into their room, slightly illuminating the figures of the tired Pokémon.

The three Pokémon, silhouetted in the faint light, mulled over the past day.

"I'm glad we met your family, Ragarth. They were nice," the sleepy leader of Team Sky said happily. A yawn came upon the young Totodile.

"Yeah, Azumarill was really acting nice, despite her feeling ill," the young Chikorita added. She, too, yawned.

"Well, that's just how she is." Looking at his friends he added, "And don't worry… I already know they aren't my real family. Water-type parents don't have Fire-type kids."

"At least you know…" Stillbreeze offered.

"True," Sevek said, "but they _are_ your family. Maybe not your birth family, but at least you've got them to rely on."

"Yeah, at least I have that… Hey guys?"

"What?"

"Err… could we chip in every now and then for Azumarill?"

"Sure," Sevek said, "It'll be nice to help Azumarill out."

"Thanks Sevek."

With that, the trio quickly fell asleep.

The sun rose, and with the sun came Loudred's wake-up call. It didn't help that he also used Hyper Voice to get everyone awake.

Slightly dizzy from the volume of Loudred's Hyper Voice, the trio of Team Sky woke up. Sevek accidentally bit his tail, which had been curled up near his head. Ragarth jumped in surprise, and Stillbreeze muttered mutinously.

"Come ON rookies! Time for the MEETING!"

"Ow!" Sevek yelped, rubbing the bite marks on his injured tail.

"Fine, Loudred, maybe you should wake up the _other_ guild members as well?" Stillbreeze pointed out angrily. "We'll be out as soon as we can."

"OKAY!" And off he stormed to wake up the other guild members.

Sevek got up and said pepily, "well, let's get going Team!" With that, he and the others got up and went to the morning address.

The morning address seemed to go as usual, until Chatot announced that he had some unfortunate news to give. "It seems that in the forest far in the northeast… time… has come to a standstill…"

That put everyone in a panic. The guild members started turning to each other to voice their concerns. Finally, the young Sunflower Pokémon, Sunflora, asked, "So… does this mean that someone has attempted the unthinkable?"

"Unfortunately… yes. Time has come to a standstill in that forest, Treeshroud Forest, because its Time Gear has been stolen."

_Stolen?_ Thought Ragarth, _why would anyone want to steal some gear that could only stop time in a fairly small area? Along with that, why attempt what _could_ possibly trap yourself in time? It doesn't make sense._

"Er… is there anything we can do to help, Chatot?" Sevek offered weakly.

"It's a kind offer, Sevek, but since we do not know the thief's identity, an utterly useless one as well."

Wigglytuff walked to Chatot and put his hand on the smaller Pokemon's shoulder, "true, but for now, guild members just keep your eyes and ears open, okay? If you see or hear anything suspicious, let us know. Alright, dismissed. Do well my friendly friends!" Wigglytuff sung.

The older apprentices left for their designated jobs. Team Sky waited for Chatot to give them their assignment. The little bird hopped towards the trio. He seemed troubled, but then again, who didn't at this point? Well, besides Wigglytuff.

Chatot started speaking, "you three have been doing a considerable job so far, despite your unorthodox methods."

"Yep," Wigglytuff added, "so that's why we want you three to go on a special mission for us!"

Sevek's eyes lit up with excitement. "Really? A special mission! Sweet!" He jumped with joy.

"Wow!" Stillbreeze happily exclaimed. Her yellow eyes were shining with joy.

"So, what's the mission?" Ragarth asked, filled to the brim with pride and a slight anxiety. He lightly touched his Special Band, which was located on his neck.

Wigglytuff smiled a huge, friendly smile and said, "The mission is for you three to explore a possibly new dungeon location. It's only known as the 'Secret Waterfall', as we believe the waterfall holds a secret."

_Oh no…_ Part of Ragarth's smile faded.

Sevek looked concerned and asked, "Are you okay, Ragarth?"

"Yeah, as soon as you heard the word 'waterfall' you turned pale." For once, Stillbreeze seemed fairly concerned.

Wigglytuff and Chatot seemed equally concerned about the rookie Cyndaquil's reaction.

"I- it's just that- being a Fire-type, water kinda scares me…"

Sevek put an arm around Ragarth in a brotherly way. "If you don't want to go, Ragarth, then you don't have to go."

"I know but-but I-I want to go. I want to be brave like you, Sevek. I don't like being this timid." He said loudly.

Rather than scold Ragarth for blasting his eardrums in a similar way that Loudred would use, Sevek merely smiled, patted his teammate on the back, and said in a cheerful tone, "then you'll come! Don't you worry about a thing! Everything'll be fine!"

"Anyways," Stillbreeze interjected, "most Water-Types have second thoughts about going anywhere _near_ a Grass-Type like me." She finished with a proud tone and look about her.

Chatot said in an almost parental tone, "Ragarth, just trust your teammates, they'll keep you safe in there. Anyways, what's a Team without trust?"

_Trust… maybe I overreacted… What are the odds of getting hurt with Stillbreeze around? Next to none. What are the odds of drowning with Sevek around? Absolutely zero._ Looking down at his Special Band one more time, Ragarth contemplated its almost emerald coloration. He knew then that without a doubt, he could do this. "You're right. Thanks for cheering me up, Sevek, Stillbreeze, Chatot, and Wigglytuff. I won't be scared as long as we're together, Sevek and Stillbreeze."

Ragarth noted that Sevek jumped with joy, eyes lit with happiness at Ragarth's decision. He saw Stillbreeze look proudly toward him and Wigglytuff and Chatot seemed relieved. Ragarth knew his choice was correct.

The little colorful bird Pokemon's tail started tapping to a rhythm only he knew. "Alright, if I were you three, I'd get properly equipped for the mission. Don't take chances like during the Persian mission. If you feel you need help, ask for it. Understood?" Chatot was looking sternly at the members of Team Sky.

"Oh!" Wigglytuff shouted, remembering something important. "Be sure to check out Marowak's Dojo! It's a place dedicated to training Exploration Teams in combat. It'd probably be useful, don't you think so?" Wigglytuff added while he grabbed an extremely huge and delicious-looking apple from Chatot. Bouncing the deliciousness on his head, Wigglytuff strolled back into his room.

Chatot shook his head slightly, agreeing with Wigglytuff, yet miffed that he'd had that large apple stolen from him.

The trio of Cyndaquil, Totodile, and Chikorita walked together through Treasure Town. The weather was sunny with a slight breeze to take off the edge of the heat. The colorful brick ground passed by under the three young Pokemon's feet.

The decorated shops and buildings were passed by until the trio noticed a large, light brown stone building. It had fairly large bones surrounding the outer walls, along with a large skull above the door. White-red feathers hung around the skull in a circle.

"Wow, what an inviting place…" Stillbreeze muttered in a low tone. She visibly tensed ears and eyes searching for the slightest bit of danger.

"I know, isn't it?" Sevek said, completely missing the sarcasm in Stillbreeze's statement. "Well, are we going in or not?" He asked, looking at his teammates in his usual naïve way.

"Uh, Sevek… shouldn't we think twice about going into a menacing place like this?" Ragarth added his concerns with Stillbreeze's. There was _absolutely no way_ he'd go into a place that _Stillbreeze_ had concerns about.

"Really? You think this place is scary?" Again, Sevek's naivety got the better of him.

"Uh, Sevek…" Ragarth started, shocked that his leader honestly didn't mind that there were bones as decorations on this building.

"Sevek, there are _bones_ all around this building! And you honestly don't think there's _anything _to be concerned about?" Stillbreeze's voice-of-reason cut in. She, herself, had a slightly worried look on her face. Her legs were slightly trembling as well. Though she would never admit it, this place scared her a little.

"That only adds to the coolness of the place!" Sevek's enthusiasm came into play here, breaking some of the tension… some… not much.

Ragarth and Stillbreeze still seemed fairly nervous about Sevek's choice. Ragarth was visibly shaking with a frightened expression, while Stillbreeze was trembling in a not-so-visible manner; she was getting ready to fight Sevek just so that the Team could leave this Arceus-forsaken place.

A lone Bagon had been leaning against a nearby wall outside of the Dojo. He'd heard Team Sky's squabbling and came out to discover what they were fighting about. _Looks like they're unsure of whether or not to go in…_ Sighing, the little hard-headed blue dragon muttered just loud enough for Team Sky to hear him, "are you three going in to train or are you just gonna keep loitering?"

"Yep!" Sevek said happily, ignoring the startled cries of his teammates.

Motioning for Sevek to follow, Bagon walked inside the intimidating Dojo. Sevek followed closely, forcing Ragarth and Stillbreeze to have a quick decision.

"We could leave him." Stillbreeze mentioned.

"No way! We gotta go in to help him!"

"…fine, have it your way."

Stillbreeze and Ragarth quickly caught up to the two Pokémon. They stayed close by Sevek's side, shooting each other nervous glances. They followed Bagon into a relatively large room that, disregarding the windows, resembled a cave.

The cave room had two windows of an average proportion. The walls were built from dark brown stones, while the floor was built from a plethora of various hues of brown stones. A water trough was near a far wall, along with a bowl full of apples and colorful berries. There was another opening near the back end of the room. Shouting and other loud noises could be heard emitting from that room. The noises seemed quite like battle cries.

Bagon turned to the trio and said, "The name's Bagon. Leader of Team Meteor… remember it. And you are?"

Sevek answered first and happiest, "I'm Sevek, leader of Team Sky."

Stillbreeze came next. In a tone much stronger than how she felt, she said, "I'm Stillbreeze of Team Sky."

Next came Ragarth, whose shaky answer was: "I'm Ragarth of Team Sky."

An explosion boomed in the other room, knocking two new Dragon-Types out into the entry room. They were a light blue and white wyrm-like Pokémon and an off-blue and red bellied, along with big mouthed Pokémon. A Dratini and a Gible.

Before any of Team Sky could go to check on the injured Pokémon, the two injured Dragon-Types groaned and pushed themselves up. Gible, who also had a chip in its head fin, muttered first: "we got roughed up…"

Gible had minor cuts and a plethora of bruises, none of which were too concerning. The same went for Dratini, whose long body was merely bruised. Bagon walked over to the bowl, picked out two blue colored berries, Oran Berries, and walked back over to the injured Pokémon. "Here, you know these will help recover some of your endurance."

After the two injured Pokémon started to eat the berries, Bagon turned back to Team Sky.

"So then," Stillbreeze started, slightly confused, "how do you know these two?"

"Because they're part of Team Meteor as well." Bagon answered. He scratched the back of his head. "But you, Team Sky… you're strange…"

"Dra-Bagon…?" Dratini asked a confused look now on her face as well.

Confused and slightly nervous, Ragarth asked in a small voice, "and is that a good thing or a bad thing?"

"Yeah, and just what's so strange about us?" Sevek demanded.

Bagon, walking slightly past Sevek so that both Pokémon were facing opposite sides, said in a low tone: "you three… you not only look strange for you species… but you also radiate some strange aura… you noticed that… didn't you guys?" Bagon directed the last part to his teammates.

"I did…" Gible answered a solemn look on his face.

At Team Sky's questioning looks, Gible explained, "aura is basically the kind of feelings you give off. You are weird. They give off feelings of happiness, yet also of some sorrow. It's really hard to explain."

"Uh…" That was about all there was for the members of Team Sky to say. Sevek had a majorly confused look on his face, while Stillbreeze looked slightly insulted; Ragarth just looked slightly confused, as he somewhat got what Gible was saying.

Bagon stepped up, turned to face Sevek directly, and said, "how about a battle, then? Team Sky's individual members against Team Meteor's individual members."

"Sounds good to me!" Sevek said happily.

Bagon, Gible, and Dratini walked towards the loud back room, Bagon motioning for Team Sky to follow.

Ragarth and Stillbreeze stopped Sevek from following. Both gave him uncertain looks. "Sevek… can we honestly trust them…?" Ragarth asked. But then again, why wouldn't he ask that, given what happened when he trusted Persian.

Noticing his friends' discomfort, Sevek called out to Team Meteor, "Just a sec! We need to figure something out really quick!"

Bagon's low, slightly peeved voice called back, "alright we'll be waiting. Don't take too long, you hear me!"

Sevek walked between his friends and stopped. Putting a hand on both their shoulders, he smiled and said, "I know you guys are scared…-"

"_I'm_ not scared." Stillbreeze interrupted.

"-but if we don't try… don't you think we'd be really putting our Bronze Rank down? It's okay to be scared but don't let that control all your choices." Withdrawing his hands and walking towards the loud room, Sevek added in a friendly way, "I'm gonna train, I'll see you guys later for the mission."

Ragarth and Stillbreeze looked at each other, and then quickly followed Sevek into the back room.

In the back room was another cave-like room. It was formed from white-grey stones and was full of Exploration Teams training against one another.

In the center of the room was a tan-colored Pokémon with a white head. It seemed to be holding a large bone. As a ball-shaped, blue seal Pokémon fainted, they heard the tan Pokémon shout, "Spheal is down! That means Riolu is the winner!"

They saw the weary Riolu's smile as it helped the passed out Spheal up from the ground. The tan Pokémon brought an Oran Berry to the injured Spheal, noticed the newcomers, and walked over to them.

"Hello. Welcome to Marowak's Dojo," He said, gesturing to the whole area. "Name's Marowak. How can I help you today?"

Gible walked forward, saying to Marowak, "it's fine Marowak, they're sparring with us today," walking back over to Bagon and Dratini, Gible aimed towards Team Sky, "come on, we're over here."

Team Sky, along with Marowak, walked over to where Team Meteor had gathered.

Bagon nodded his approval and stated, "This will be an individual three-on-three match. It ends when no member of a Team is able… and I mean when _no_ member is able to battle. The Team with no members able to battle loses. Understood?"

"Yep." Sevek answered once again for the whole Team.

"Good. Marowak, you referee."

Marowak nodded. Then: "Teams ready?"

At this, Team Meteor split into their respective areas. Bagon stayed put in the center; Gible moved farther away and to Bagon's right; Dratini moved away and to Bagon's left. Team Sky quickly followed suit: Sevek would fight Bagon, Stillbreeze would fight Dratini, and Ragarth would fight Gible.

"Begin!" Marowak boomed as he slammed the bone he carried on the ground, signifying the beginning of the match.

Bagon and Sevek began their fight. Sevek started the fight with a Water Gun, while Bagon countered with a Dragonbreath. The flame-like attack completely overpowered the Water Gun and hit Sevek, knocking him backwards.

"Wah!" Getting up, Sevek thought, _Tough… I don't think I can beat that kind of power… But maybe if I fight strategically…_

"What's the matter Sevek? Is this the true power of Team Sky's leader? Give me nothing short of your true power!" Bagon taunted, yelling.

Getting steady on his two feet, Sevek answered, "no worries, I'm just getting started." A smile was on the little Totodile's face.

Sevek bolted forward, Bagon following suit. Instead of using Scratch at a close range or colliding with Bagon, Sevek used Water Gun to avoid a Headbutt. He then used Leer to lower Bagon's defense.

Feeling the effects of the Leer, Bagon turned around, thinking, _so that's his plan…_ "You're going to have to do better than that, Sevek!" He unleashed another Dragonbreath, just narrowly avoided by Sevek's nimble movements.

Sevek countered with Scratch, landing a few hits on Bagon before jumping backwards.

They faced each other, watching to see who would make the first strike. Losing her patience with that, Stillbreeze struck with Razor Leaf. The small dragon dodged the sharp leaves with ease.

Ever persistent, Stillbreeze continued until Dratini not only avoided every attack, but also pulled off a Slam with her tail. Stillbreeze was sent skidding across the stone ground, taking a few stones with her.

_Guh! This isn't working! I need to think! Her attacks are really powerful, but…got it!_ Stillbreeze smirked.

"Is this all?" Dratini asked in a not quite impolite way. She seemed somewhat amused.

"Not even close!" Stillbreeze said defiantly. The little yellow-eyed Chikorita let out a cute Growl to lower Dratini's power, then used Synthesis to recover some energy.

_Smart,_ Dratini thought, _She's lowering my attack power and using my recover time to regain energy._ "But will your plan be good enough?" Dratini challenged.

"Just wait and see!" Stillbreeze ran into a Tackle, matching with Dratini's Slam. Both skidded backwards from the force of the blow.

He was scared. He felt like this fight would go horribly wrong before it even begun. The cool stones under him didn't take any fears from him. Gible watched him carefully, easily recognizing his opponent's fear.

_Boss's orders to train against these guys… but I don't want to be cruel to the kid…_ "We can just sit out if you want, Ragarth."

Marowak's voice cut in, "that would count as a forfeit, disqualifying both Teams."

Gible sighed, _Marowak and his rules…_

Ragarth looked at Gible. He didn't sense any ill intent but… "It's fine. Let's go."

Ragarth started things with an Ember, but instead of the small fire he was used to, he only got a few fiery sparks. _Wha? It's not working? Well then… I need some kind of defense. Smokescreen!_

The dense black smoke quickly covered the battlefield, taking out Gible's vision.

_The kid is timid… but he makes up for that with his intelligence. Sadly, I only know one move that would counter a smokescreen…_

"Not bad!" Bagon shouted.

"Don't think you've won just yet!" Dratini warned.

"Sorry 'bout this." Gible apologized.

"Draco Meteor!" All three shouted simultaneously.

The three orange balls of energy rose from the three dragons. They flung quickly into the air and burst into what seemed to be small, blue-green meteorites.

_What the-?_ Stillbreeze thought.

_Oh no!_ Ragarth worried.

_Pretty…_ Sevek thought, admiring the attack.

The meteorites came crashing down to the floor, causing many holes to be forced into it. The bluish colored balls of energy slammed into the trio, causing all three of them to simultaneously faint.

"Team Meteor is the victor!" Marowak shouted.

_Ugh…_ Sevek thought as he started to come-to. _What… happened…?_ He opened his eyes slowly, taking in where he was. Brown stone greeted him from all over. It was slightly cool, with some darker areas. A wyrm-like dragon was near a bowl of Oran Berries. A blue dragon with a chipped fin on its head was next to the wyrm-like dragon: Dratini and Gible.

_I remember now… we were in a match against Team Meteor and wiped out. Hmm…_ Sevek forced himself up.

This was noticed by Gible, who turned and faced Sevek. "You okay?"

"Urk… think so…"

Looking apologetic, Gible said, "We kinda overdid the Draco Meteor. Sorry, we're still working the bugs out of that one."

Dratini moved towards Team Sky with the Oran Berry Bowl on her head. "It _was_ an interesting fight overall, though. We were clearly out of your league, yet you three had us going for a little bit."

Using her tail to grab an Oran Berry, she placed it where Sevek could easily grab it. Sevek weakly took the berry and popped it in his mouth. It was 'magically delicious' as some could say. It was sweet, yet a slight bit sour to balance the sweetness. Sevek quickly regained energy and was smiling.

"Looks like you feel better!" Gible exclaimed good naturedly.

"Yep! Thanks!"

"I can't believe Bagon," Dratini complained, "I can't believe he'd have us go through a fight against a rookie Team… no offense, but we can't get stronger if we don't fight Teams stronger than ourselves."

"Well that's shallow of you, Dratini," Gible pointed out with an unhappy face. "Just think of it in Bagon's point of view: these guys obviously needed help in training, so they trained with us. This time _we were_ the stronger Team helping _them_ to get stronger."

"Alright, alright. I can accept that," She moved closer to Gible.

"Thanks guys," Sevek said in an easy-going tone. "Didn't realize we were that far behind everyone else." He gave a slight chuckle, and then asked, "Any suggestions?"

"Hmm… for the Chikorita, Stillbreeze, I'd suggest using more strategy from the get-go. She also needs to be better prepared for the unexpected. She's just a bit too headstrong for someone as low-leveled as herself."

Nodding, Sevek agreed with Dratini and asked the same of Gible.

"Well, Cyndaquil, er, Ragarth is extremely timid. He's also fairly bright. I'd say his main issue would be conquering his timidy. He'd be an incredible Explorer if he could do that."

Sevek again nodded, agreeing with Gible and taking a mental note of the information.

Bagon appeared out of the shadows. "And you, Sevek, are way too relaxed. You appear to be intelligent, given your strategy in our fight… yet… something is holding you back…"

"My level?" Sevek asked, giving an obvious answer.

"Not just that… it's something else… but I can't say what…"

"Er…?" A seriously confused look appeared on Sevek's face.

Bagon stalked around the confused Totodile, inspecting him. After a full round about, Bagon said, "You _are_ a Water-Type, correct?"

"Last time I checked, yeah… why?"

Looking skeptical, Bagon said in a low voice, "you smell like a Grass-Type."

"Well, if I remember right…" Sevek said, thinking deeply, _how did I end up at the Guild again? I remember the beach, but that's as far back as I can remember… Everything else…_

"Well…?" Bagon's impatience startled Gible and Dratini.

"Well… I don't remember. Sorry." Sevek finished, slightly frowning.

"Grr!" Bagon launched into an attack.

Shocked to see their leader lash out like this, Gible and Dratini stood, frozen. Sevek flinched, completely unable to move.

_I-I can't move! Not good, not good!_

Out of seemingly nowhere, a strong jet of flame appeared. Inside the flame were glowing leaves. Sevek recovered when the attack hit Bagon, propelling the blue dragon back into a wall. Everyone watched as Bagon passed out.

Looking at the source of the attack, Sevek and the members of Team Meteor were shocked to see Ragarth and Stillbreeze on their feet, their low endurance power cloaks active. They were tired and injured, but determined to protect their leader.

"Leave our friend alone!" Stillbreeze boomed towards Bagon, Gible, and Dratini.

"Yeah! Sevek didn't do anything wrong!" Ragarth added, shouting.

Both seemed ready to attack Team Meteor some more, when Sevek got in their way.

"Guys! That thing with Bagon was a freak accident! These guys didn't even _try_ to pull anything!" Sevek shouted for his teammates to hear clearly.

"How do we know _that_?" Ragarth asked in an uncharacteristically hostile voice.

"Don't protect scum like them, Sevek." Stillbreeze growled.

Seeing his friends look so… violent made Sevek nearly cry. All they wanted was to protect their leader… _They're doing this for me…? Then I _have_ to be the one to set things straight!_

"_Guys!_ _Bagon_ was the _only _one to attack me." He emphasized, pointing in Bagon's general direction. "These two are _innocent!_" He stressed the 'innocent', pointing towards Dratini and Gible.

"We honestly had no idea Bagon would attack you like that, Sevek…" Gible said sincerely and sorrowfully.

"But we'd _never_ attack a fellow Exploration Team, no matter what we were told to do. By Bagon or by anyone else!" Dratini yelled back, hurt by the false accusations.

An argument broke out between the members of both Teams.

Sevek watched, saddened by the turn of events. _I don't know what to do… I—I don't—don't know… what to do…_ "G-guys…?" Sevek put out weakly.

"Stay out of this Sevek!" Everyone shouted angrily.

"Dear Arceus alive! You sound like Chatot!" Stillbreeze barked at him.

_Chatot?_ Sevek thought, first insulted with a hurt expression on his face, which changed to a hopeful one as soon as the thought hit him, _Chatot! Maybe _he_ could sort this out!_ Taking a glance at his friends, Sevek bolted. Out of the Dojo. Through Treasure Town, and gaining weird looks which were ignored. To the Guild. To Chatot and Wigglytuff.

Upon reaching the two Pokémon, Sevek was out of breath. Gasping to reclaim his oxygen, he attempted to explain what was going on.

Chatot, flustered by Sevek's quick, gaspy explanation, squawked, "Sevek! Calm down, take a deep breath, and explain what you are trying to say."

"But! No time! Trouble!" He exclaimed between gasps. "Need help! Dojo! Trouble! _Please!_" His arms were frantically waving.

Wigglytuff had a worried expression, "Lead the way, Sev."

Off Sevek bolted again; Wigglytuff and Chatot hot on his heels. They climbed the levels of the Guild. They ran through Treasure Town, picking up some weird and worried looks. Finally, they made it to the Dojo, where the fighting could be heard from even outside the building.

"You tried to kill our leader! Take THIS!" Stillbreeze could be heard shouting.

"We're telling you we had _NOTHING_ to do with that!" Dratini's voice cut in. The collision of attacks could be heard. Smoke slightly drifting out from the attacks.

"I see what you mean now." Chatot commented as the trio joined the main room, where the Teams were fighting viciously. Other Teams had gathered around, some making bets, others watching with high interest. Others still, were watching, petrified out of fear for the fighters.

"This… this… Urrr...!" Wigglytuff started sadly. He seemed ready to cry. The ground started to shake, starting from where Wigglytuff was standing. An extremely powerful Hyper Voice, which would make Loudred's seem like a tiny creak, scattered the gathered Pokémon and blasted the fighting Pokémon into the walls. "Enough! Friends! Stop this!"

"Ow…"

"Urf…"

"Urk…"

"Ipe…"

The four weakly looked up from their fallen positions. Wigglytuff continued, "Look at how you're acting! What would _any_ of you _possibly_ want to fight like this over?"

Ragarth and Stillbreeze answered together, "They tried to kill Sevek!"

"We did NOT!" Gible shouted, his easy-going manner completely dissolved.

"Don't flatter yourselves!" Dratini remarked snidely.

Chatot and Wigglytuff turned towards Sevek, "What really happened Sevek?" Chatot asked.

Sevek explained everything. From meeting up with Team Meteor and training against them to Bagon's strange behavior and finished with the two Teams fighting.

Nodding, Wigglytuff said, "So this was all a misunderstanding… But that doesn't excuse you all for trying to kill each other. I'm also positive that I know why things got so out of hand."

"Time's influence?" Chatot questioned.

"Yep. The negative flow of energy coming from Time going out of whack, mixed with the negative emotions these Pokémon were feeling, probably caused them to go slightly battle-crazed." Wigglytuff explained. Placing a hand on Sevek's shoulder, due to him noticing Sevek's sorrowful expression, Wigglytuff said, "It wasn't your fault, Sevek."

"W-will they… be okay? Will they ever go back to normal?" Sevek began trembling.

"We can hope so," Chatot put in, placing a wing on Sevek's other shoulder and trying to still the poor Totodile.

Sevek sat down. He did the only thing a child in his position could do… cry. He wept for his friends and for everything he felt he caused to go wrong. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry Stillbreeze, Ragarth, and Team Meteor! It's my fault! I'm sorry!"

The four maddened Pokémon slightly glanced over at Sevek. They seemed somewhat reached by Sevek's display of sorrow.

"Chatot, we need to get everyone to the Guild for treatment."

"Yes sir."

With that, the Pokémon were taken back to the Guild. Chimecho took care of injuries and made sure everyone was okay.

Team Meteor, along with Stillbreeze and Ragarth were taken to a below-below level area in the Guild where they could be treated for further injuries and observed. Sevek was taken back to his room to recover. After a while of resting, Sevek walked down to the Observation Room to watch for any change of behavior in his friends.

The next day…

Sevek walked down to the observation area. Something seemed different from yesterday. The horribly sad feeling had left him, which was strange. He wasn't happy… but he wasn't sad either. Sitting down to watch his friends, Sevek made a wish for them to recover. He had, earlier, been given the idea from Chatot to join one of the senior teams for the mission, but declined, wishing to have his first Exploration with his Teammates and close friends.

Seemingly coming from respective trances, the five Pokémon all looked confused, Ragarth noticing Sevek and asking, "Where are we?"

Sevek jumped for joy when he noticed that Ragarth sounded normal again.

"Uh, Sevek? Are you okay?"

"Way better than okay my friend!" Sevek said enthusiastically. "You're better! I'm so glad Chatot was wrong!" Sevek's gushing seemed to bring everyone else-to as well, except for Bagon.

"Er, Sevek? Where _are_ we?" Stillbreeze asked in her usual, demanding way.

"Yeah, I'd like to know that too."

"Same here."

"Hang on a second!" Sevek exclaimed. He bolted up the steps and straight to Chatot.

Noticing the pep in Sevek's steps and happiness in his face, Chatot could already guess what happened.

"Chatot!"

"I'll get the Guildmaster's approval." He sung.

Upon the trio's appearance, strange looks were exchanged between the slightly captive Pokémon. After a quick succession of questions and analysis, Stillbreeze, Ragarth, Gible, and Dratini were allowed to leave the glass area. Bagon, still too wild, was left behind.

Sevek gushed over his friends, hugging them and crying out of pure happiness. "I'msorrythathappened! Iwasstupidandoverlyrashand- I'm so glad you're back!"

"Sevek… I'm sorry. I should've thought clearer." The little green Cyndaquil said in a weak voice.

"Who knew we'd beast out like that over a little misunderstanding?" Stillbreeze laughed. Under her breath, she told Sevek, "I honestly _am_ glad you're okay."

"But… what about Draco?" Dratini asked, looking through the glass towards Bagon.

"Who?" Wigglytuff asked, mirroring everyone's question.

Gible lightly tapped Dratini, startling her. "S-sorry! I meant Bagon." She corrected.

"So… your leader's name is Draco?" Chatot muttered.

"Err… yeah…" Gible said, "I'm Draconix and this is Ryla."

"Draco told us not to tell others our actual identities."

"I see. That's actually fairly common you guys," Chatot told Team Sky. "They are probably an outlaw hunting Team, then. As that would be the only reason aside from being criminals, which they aren't, that they would need to cover up their real names."

"But," Ragarth cut in, "if you don't know who they are, then it's still polite to use the species name."

"Correct." Chatot answered. "And Team Meteor… I hate to say this, but you might want to try to operate without your leader until he recovers his reason."

"We know… we just worry about him…" Ryla said quietly. She was looking down at the floor.

Sevek, in an understanding tone, said, "If you want, you can join with us for awhile… you know, so you don't have to be alone."

"Don't you _dare_ patronize us!" Ryla fumed.

"Don't _you_ dare go at our leader!" Stillbreeze yelled right back.

"Guys." Upon no response, Sevek grabbed a Blast Seed, spat out flames, and shouted, "GUYS! ENOUGH!"

Dodging the flames, Stillbreeze and Ryla looked at Sevek. Realizing she was acting much like a Wild, Stillbreeze paused and looked at Sevek apologetically. Draconix calmed down Ryla.

Draconix spoke up, "we probably won't join with you, but thanks for the offer. Wigglytuff? Mind if we come by from time to time to check on Draco?"

"Not at all. Fee free."

"Thanks." With that, they left.

Chatot moved, checking Team Sky for injuries. Upon finding none, Chatot said, "we still expect you three to do the Waterfall mission."

"Yep. We will." Sevek said confidently, "right guys?"

"Of course we will!" Stillbreeze said with pep, affectionately whacking the back of Sevek's head with a vine.

"Oww..."

"We'll give it our best!" Ragarth added.

"And possibly bring back treasure too!" Stillbreeze chimed in while Sevek was rubbing his poor head.

After preparations were made, the trio checked their map. The Waterfall was just a few hours' trip going in a southeastern direction. They followed the winding river of blue towards its source: the waterfall. Idle chatter between the young friends made the trip much more fun for all of them.

Finally, the trio made it to the Secret Waterfall. The water was pounding downward at a fairly scary pace. Ragarth slightly shivered, then looked to Sevek.

Sevek, being the naïve Water-Type that he was, just shrugged, walked into the water and was smacked into the rock ground, face first.

"Oww..." Sevek groaned.

"Not your best idea Sevek." Ragarth mentioned, slightly afraid of his leader's… naivety?

"'Not your best idea?'" Stillbreeze scoffed, "that was just downright stupid!" She used one of her vines to pull the now waterlogged Totodile out from the pounding water.

"Owww…" Sevek sat up, dizzy.

"See what happens when you don't think?" Stillbreeze said smugly.

Shaking off some water, Sevek replied, "Yeah, waterfalls are not fun to run directly into."

"Then we have no idea of how to progress…" Ragarth pointed out. He sat down next to Sevek.

Sitting down also, Stillbreeze couldn't help but agree with Ragarth. Until a vision came at her.

_A shadowy Pokémon came walking towards the waterfall. It had a leaf on its head that fell down its back, along with a bipedal reptilian body._

_"No way through… or so it seems…"_

_With that, the reptilian Pokémon backed off, ran as fast as it could, and as it reached the end of the rocky ledge, jumped into the pounding waters._

_The Pokémon emerged on the inside of the waterfall, in a cave. The stones appeared to glow a bluish color and were encrusted with gems that sparkled, even in the darkness._

The vision cut off. Sevek and Ragarth were looking at Stillbreeze expectantly.

"So, what did you see?" Sevek asked. "Or did you just zone-out?"

"I think I saw some strange Pokémon jumping through the waterfall. It managed to get inside the cave in the waterfall by jumping." She shook her head, the broad leaf quickly shifting positions. Her Relic Fragment, which was attached to her neck by a small rope necklace, also moved accordingly.

Ragarth put the pieces together first, and dreaded it. He turned from a yellow and green coloration to a pale one. "Crap."

"What's the matter Ragarth?" Sevek asked innocently.

"We-we have to _jump_ through a _waterfall._"

"Looks like." Stillbreeze added.

"Don't worry Ragarth, it'll be okay!" Sevek cheered, ever peppy.

"O-okay… I-I trust you."

The trio stepped back almost to the trees surrounding the area. With one final look, they bolted towards the edge of the ledge and jumped into the waterfall.

They were pounded by the powerful waters, for what seemed to be ages, until it stopped. They rolled onto a rough, backache inducing, blue stone floor. Gems sparkled, despite there being little light in the area. They had made it!

Getting to their feet, they couldn't be happier to be alive. They preceded through the dungeon, battling the wild, rampant inhabitants all throughout. Ragarth, although terrified, was beyond happy about deciding to go on the mission.

When they finally reached the farthest depths of the area, they noticed a fairly good sized gem in the back of the room. It seemingly glowed in a mystic pink way. The rest of the room was dark as blue pitch, as there was very little light. The room was also very moist, but that was expected from the start.

The trio walked towards the big gem. They noticed another gem, a larger gem, behind the pink glowy one.

"Let's bring these two and a few smaller ones back!" Sevek exclaimed.

So, while Sevek attempted to pull the giant gem out of the wall, Stillbreeze grabbed the glowing gem, and Ragarth grabbed several smaller gems.

Grunting, Sevek asked, "a little help here?"

However, even with Ragarth and Stillbreeze's help, the giant gem defied their efforts.

"Dang! This thing is _stuck!_" Sevek pointed out when they had given up. Stillbreeze and Ragarth leaned against the wall, while Sevek leaned against the giant gem… The only problem being, when the gem took on Sevek's weight, it moved back with a "click".

Ragarth and Stillbreeze looked at him.

"Sevek… what did you just…? Oh my Arceus! Run!" Stillbreeze shouted as soon as she heard the wall crumble. They were a bit too late, as a wave of water crashed into them, dragging them where it wished. They passed out, dragged by the powerful current.

The water flushed all three members of Team Sky through the cave, into a river, and into the little geyser where they were spat out.

They landed with a fierce 'splash' in warm, comfortable water. Steam came from not only the water, but the rocks and land surrounding that water as well. The startled Pokémon helped pull them onto dryish land.

Upon waking, Team Sky was groggy, yet oddly refreshed. A large, orange, and very old turtle came up to them and asked, "Are you okay?"

"Urk. I think I'm okay," Ragarth stated, still in a daze.

"I-I'm good," Stillbreeze muttered.

"I'm cold," Sevek noticed.

"Step closer to the water, youn'un." The turtle, really a Torkoal, said in a grandfatherly way.

Sevek did so and instantly found warmth. "Thanks!"

"You three scared us!" Teddiursa exclaimed.

"Yeah, you came right out of nowhere," Ursaring mentioned.

"And fell right in the middle of the water!" Mankey said enthusiastically.

"Cool!" Sevek said with glee.

"So, how did you three end up in the geyser?"

At Sevek's confused look, Primeape explained, "the big spouty thingy."

"Oh! That! Uh…"

"We were exploring a hidden dungeon and accidentally triggered a trap." Ragarth explained, while Stillbreeze glared at Sevek.

"The water came and swept us away." Stillbreeze added.

"Ah, I see. So the water swept you that far away, eh?"

"How far out are we?" Sevek asked.

Torkoal moved to a map, which had been a very short walk away. He pointed to the Hot Spring on the map. At a glance, Ragarth mentioned, "wow, that trap took us quite a few miles out. It'll probably take a little while longer before we get back to the Guild."

"Still," Sevek said, "it's not nearly as far away as Mt. Bristle was. We could probably get back in a few hours."

"True." Stillbreeze added.

"By all means friends, please take some time to rest and relax." Torkoal offered.

Nodding, Sevek said, "Thanks Torkoal, I think we'll take you up on that offer."

The three members of Team Sky spent about an hour just relaxing. Sevek could be seen floating in the steamy water. The water did wonders on his aching muscles.

Stillbreeze and Ragarth were relaxing in the hot sandy area. The steam helped their tired and sore muscles as well.

Near the end of their stay, things got a bit chaotic when Mankey dared Sevek to pull Stillbreeze into the water. Sevek did so when she was walking nearby. She grabbed for the first thing that could possibly keep her on her feet, which happened to be Ragarth. When the two were knocked into the water, they cried out in surprise and double teamed Sevek in a splash fight. The other Pokémon joined in and soon everyone was having a great time splashing and laughing.

After that was over, Team Sky bid the Hot Springs Pokémon a farewell and started the trip home. Since they were traveling along the river, they chose to see Azumarill again. She was doing a bit better, much to Ragarth's relief. Some money and items like Apples were left for the family as the Team finally started back to the Guild.

Upon reaching the Guild, Team Sky reported back to Chatot.

"My my. So there was a cave behind the waterfall, you say? And not only that, but a cave full of gems?" The colorful bird's tail was happily beating to some unknown rhythm.

"Yep! We even managed to bring a few back with us!" Sevek said happily. Ragarth dropped the bag full of gems next to Chatot for inspection.

"My my! This is wonderful! Do you have anything else to report?"

"Yeah… in the end of the dungeon is a giant gem…" Stillbreeze started. "Don't touch it."

"Why not?"

"It… was a trap. We messed with it and got knocked into the Hot Spring." Ragarth explained.

"I see! This is an incredible discovery, you three! Team Sky can really be proud about this."

Wigglytuff came out of his office, stole another giant Apple from Chatot and said, "Yep! You guys passed the test alright. Good for you!"

"Test?"

"Yep. We test all our Exploration Teams with dungeons that either Chatot or I have been to at some point."

"So wait… did one of you set that trap?"

"Nope! That was there since before I first went there." Wigglytuff said. "But, because you three seem really capable… I'm thinking of adding you guys to the list of possible members for the upcoming Expedition."

"Really?"

"Yep! We'll all go together to somewhere far away. We'll be up late having fun and exploring new places!"

"Awesome!"

"Yep." Chatot sang, "But don't think it's a sure thing just yet. There's still time before the Expedition, so just do your best until then, okay?"

"Yep!"

"Will do!"

"Good, then get some dinner and get to bed."

"Yes, sir!" The three ran off to wash up and eat.

After a very satisfying dinner, the trio went to their room. They exchanged happy exclamations over the current events and went to sleep.

_**

* * *

**_

Team so far:

_**Sevek- Level 12, Knows: Water Gun, Scratch, Leer, Rage**_

_**Stillbreeze- Level 12, Knows: Tackle, Growl, Synthesis, Razor Leaf**_

_**Ragarth- Level 12, Knows: Tackle, Ember, Leer, Smokescreen**_

_**Bronze Rank!**_


	6. Team Triforce and Serenity!

**_Hey! I'm back with a new chapter! Hope you like it! Oh! And thanks to Sapphire Luminesence for letting me use Serenity the Eevee in the fic!_**

**_What are you waiting for...? Read already!_**

* * *

"COME ON! WAKE UP YOU THREE!" Loudred's peppy Hyper Voice called, cutting through Team Sky's blissful sleep.

"Ugh... Okay... we're up already!" Stillbreeze snapped. "Go wake up the others!"

"FINE!" Loudred yelled as he stormed out.

Ragarth and Sevek stirred and woke up. They quickly rubbed the sleepiness out of their eyes, gathered their equipment, and left their cozy room.

After the morning address, Chatot made an important announcement. "Everyone, good news," he sang, "the Guildmaster and I have decided that since it's been a while, that we would have another Expedition soon."

"R-really?" Diglett asked.

"Yippee!" Sunflora cheered.

"WHERE? WHEN?" Loudred's excited question came.

Everyone was in an uproar of excitement over the idea of another Expedition. Chatot couldn't even be heard over their voices, so he waited until they calmed down some before continuing, "We are planning to explore a place known as Fogbound Lake. It's a location shrouded in mystery. It's rumoured to be unexplored _and_ have an incredible treasure!"

"Awesome!" Sevek exclaimed, eyes happy and bright.

"But! As always, the Expedition is a privilege, not a right. If you want to possibly be on the Expedition, you have to prove yourself worthy. Understood?" Chatot instructed, wings moving dramatically with each phrase.

"Yes, Chatot!" Everyone exclaimed.

"Alright then, let's get to work!"

"Hooray!" The Teams dispersed, off to outdo all the others and win a spot on the Expedition Team.

Upon climbing the ladder to the first underground level, Sevek accidentally bumped into a big blue penguin Pokemon.

"Uh, sorry." He quickly apologized.

"What do you think you're doing?" the penguin, a Prinplup, asked in an angry voice.

"Er... sorry? I wasn't looking where I was going and-" Sevek couldn't finish, as he was knocked into Prinplup again, due to Stillbreeze and Ragarth making it to the top of the ladder. "Watch where you're going, Fool!" Prinplup growled. He moved just enough for the tower of Team Sky to collapse on the floor in front of him.

"Ooof!" Sevek grunted as he somehow ended up under Stillbreeze. Their heads were barely inches apart, making both Pokemon feel really uncomfortable. "Er..." Sevek untangled the Relic Fragment from his Cobalt Bow and both Pokemon slightly blushed. Then Stillbreeze jumped off Sevek and got back on her feet. Sevek pushed himself up.

"Hey! You're _not_supposed to block the ladder, you know!" Stillbreeze growled.

Prinplup looked slightly annoyed with the entire Team. "I'm waiting on someone. Just keep outta my sight, got it?" He finished his threat with a metallic glowing wing pointed a few inches from Sevek's snout.

"Why can't we just work this out nicely?" Sevek asked, stuck between a Steel Wing and a Razor Leaf prep. A slight sweat drop appearing on his face. Ragarth was slightly cowering behind him.

Noticing that neither were going to avoid the fight, Sevek checked his Treasure Bag for a Blast Seed. To the little Totodile's dismay, he had none left. _Aw crap. I'm out! What now... Sleep Seed, no good. Stun Seed, maybe. Totter Orb, definitely not. Geo Pebble, that'll have to work._ Sevek launched the Geo Pebbles, whacking both Prinplup and Stillbreeze in the heads.

"Ow! What in Arceus's name are you doing, boy?" Prinplup demanded, rubbing his sore head.

"Stopping a fight." Sevek boldly said. Ragarth ran over to Stillbreeze, sensing a fight between the Water-Types. "Don't mess with my teammates. I don't want to fight you, but I will if I have to, Prinplup."

Prinplup, pointing a now normal colored wing at Sevek, laughed, "Trust me, 'Dile, I'm _way_ outta _your_ league!" Other Pokemon on the floor stopped what they were doing and watched the two Water-Types carefully.

"Hey, Crasher, don't you think picking on rookies is kinda lame?" a cactus-looking Pokemon, Cacturn, said. He moved from a more crowded area of the room to a wall closer to Prinplup.

"Bah! Waiting on Blitz is boring. Might as well have some fun." Prinplup, now dubbed Crasher, announced. "Grow some spikes and have some fun, Thorn!"

"Fine, do as you wish. Just don't cry to me when you lose to these rookies." Thorn sat down, leaning against the wall.

"Hmph! I'll prove that stuck-up Cacturn wrong! Bring it 'Dile!"

Sevek walked up, accepting Crasher's challenge. Looking back to Ragarth and Stillbreeze reassuringly, he said, "no worries. I'll beat this creep for the three of us."

Crasher started with a Steel Wing, while Sevek nimbly dodged by spinning. Crasher, angry with the miss, launched several continuous Steel Wings, all of which were dodged by Sevek. It seemed to Stillbreeze that while dodging, he was also doing his "happy dance".

Every Pokemon on the floor was watching the one-sided fight. Some cheered for Crasher, while the majority cheered for Sevek. Thorn was laughing at his teammate's incompetence.

"Just attack me already!" Crasher demanded, still attacking. Some of the crowd shared that sentiment.

"If I don't have to attack, then why should I?"

Ragarth and Stillbreeze were a bit surprised. Sevek, the impulsive leader of theirs, using strategy from the get-go? _Prinplup must be a bit stronger than Sevek,_ Stillbreeze thought.

"How" swing-miss, "do you" swing-miss, "keep dodging" swing-miss, "like this?" Swing-miss.

"I like to dance when I'm happy. I'm just using the moves of my dance to avoid your attacks. Since you really don't know my dance, you're not likely to nail me with a Steel Wing." Sevek did a quick back flip to avoid a Bubblebeam.

"Grr..." Crasher started panting and promptly fell down, too tired from attacking to get back up.

Sevek decided to dance a few more steps, so that he could _finally_complete his little dance. The gathered Pokemon either groaned or cheered for Sevek's victory. Some even exchanged Poke amounts. "Finally! I can't believe I got to finish that after so long! Hahaha!" Sevek finally noticed the crowd around him and Crasher. He quickly bowed and thanked them for watching his little dance. Then, he walked back to his Team.

Ragarth, excitedly gushed to Sevek: "I can't _believe_ you beat that bully without using a single attack! You really _are_amazing, Sevek!"

"Heh, thanks! You really think so?" Sevek's arm was bent, allowing his hand to rub the back of his head. He had a nervous smile on.

"Absolutely!"

"Great work, Sev, glad you stopped that Prinplup. He _really_was a jerk. Though, I still would've roughed him up a little." Stillbreeze said.

"Nah, he wouldn't have taken much damage if I had. He's a bit too high leveled for me to have done much more than dodge or throw Geo Pebbles at. If one of his attacks would've hit me, I likely be KO'd right now." He explained. Then to the crowd, he said, "thanks for watching my dance, everyone! Hope you enjoyed it!"

They all listened as someone came noisily down the upper ladder. Team Sky moved to allow the Pokemon through. Its body was fiery-looking: a Magmar. Walking over to Cacturn, Magmar asked, "Crasher get into another fight?"

"Yep. Thought he'd pick on another Team... then he got beat by the blue-eyed Totodile over there." Thorn pointed towards Sevek, who seemed slightly tired.

"I see..." Magmar nodded. "You, Totodile, that was my teammate you beat, you know?"

"Er... sorry, Magmar, sir. He was harassing my Team. I had to step in, sorry." Sevek truly looked apologetic.

"I'll forget everything if you beat me in a battle. How 'bout Team Triforce against your Team? We both have tired Water-Types, so it'd be an even fight. I'm Blitz, by the way... Leader of Team Triforce."

"That'd_ hardly_be fair!" Ragarth dark blue eyes had a bit of rage in them. "It's true that both our Teams have a tired member, but you guys are more experienced than us! You're bound to win!"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Ragarth." Stillbreeze blandly said. Then she noticed that hanging from Blitz's side was a Gold-Rank badge. _Grr... Ragarth's right. If we fight, then we'll lose. Blitz and Thorn look _way_more intelligent than Crasher. And Sevek barely managed that!_ "Ragarth's right. We don't stand a chance right now. Maybe later."

"I never said you could choose that option!" Blitz attacked with Flamethrower and Thunder Punch, Sevek dodged Flamethrower, but was hit by the powerful Thunder Punch. It sent him flying until he painfully hit the wall at the other end of the room. He slid to the ground, nearly falling on a Sandslash.

"You okay? Totodile?" Sevek started to stir barely able to stand at this point. His blue power-cloak appeared. "Waah! Torrent!"

"Guh...urf...What... what was that for?" He blindly asked Blitz.

"Like I said. You're not leaving without a fight!" He turned his attention to Stillbreeze. "Mouthy little weed!" He attacked again with Flamethrower-Thunder Punch. This time, however, Sevek was able to overpower Flamethrower with Water Gun. He ran to defend Stillbreeze from Thunder Punch, but wasn't fast enough. Ragarth moved in time to defend with Smokescreen. He then grabbed Stillbreeze and dodged the attack.

Back together again, Team Sky countered with several powerful Water Guns, Embers, and Razor Leaf attacks. The Smokescreen wore off, revealing the trio's location. Blitz looked angrier than an enraged Tauros. But, he also looked near the end of his endurance as well. Cacturn and Prinplup decided to join their leader against Team Sky.

"Type... Type advantages only... got...got it?" Sevek stammered, exhausted. "Stillbreeze... don't... don't... be scared of Blitz... he's mine... 'kay?"

"Wha-What? I'm not scared!"

"You flinch... when he uses... Flamethrower... don't... don't worry." His power cloak may have been activated, but he was obviously in pain.

"Th-okay. I'll go after Crasher. Ragarth: Thorn. This is for Sevek." She dashed after the Prinplup with a deep-set anger. Ragarth nodded and caught up with Thorn. Sevek and Blitz were facing off.

"You'll pay... for attacking my friends..." Sevek growled, Torrent taking over him. His eyes darkened and he dashed after Blitz, who was highly off-guard when he saw this. Sevek used Water Gun to knock Blitz in line with his cronies, then used Wide Slash to hit all three with a powerful attack. They fell back and he did it again. Stillbreeze and Ragarth, along with every Pokemon watching, looked completely shocked.

"STOP, SEVEK!" Stillbreeze and Ragarth cried out.

_"Stop...?"_Sevek's slightly twisted voice asked, not understanding.

"Yes! Stop! Don't attack anymore!" Ragarth called.

_"They... they hurt you... they hurt Sevek... Why stop?"_

"Because this isn't you, Sevek! Sevek wouldn't do this!"

_"And... who says I'm Sevek?" _The voice called. _That_ was enough to scare a lot of Pokemon away. _"What if I'm something else? Something dark?"_Sevek seemed to struggle for a bit, then calmed down, looking confused. "What happened?" He banished his power cloak.

Team Triforce fled, which also confused Sevek. He tilted his head, innocent as ever. _Why does everyone look afraid of me?_"Guys? Someone? Urf." He noticed his injuries again. His head was slightly bloody, he assumed from the Thunder Punch and wall collision. Then he noticed blood on the floor. _Wasn't Team Triforce there? Did-did _I _do this?_Sevek started shaking in fear of himself. "H-help me..."

The Sandslash from earlier was the only Pokemon to move. He walked calmly up to Sevek and said, "It's okay. None of us are holding anything against you. We just don't know what to think is all. You two," He directed to Stillbreeze and Ragarth, "if you're not going to do anything for your leader, then I'm going to take him to Aunt Blissey's. It's a hospital a little while away. You can't miss it. It's shaped like a giant pink egg. Let Wigglytuff know what I'm doing."

Sandslash led Sevek up the ladder and off to Blissey's place. Ragarth and Stillbreeze stood still for a little bit, frozen by the turn of events. However, they said nothing except to Wigglytuff and Chatot. That night, they laid in their beds, unable to sleep. Thoughts of what happened haunting their thoughts.

_"'And... who says I'm Sevek? What if I'm something else? Something dark?'"_ The words haunted them.

"Stillbreeze, I'm worried about Sevek. He's not back yet. I wish I weren't such a coward. Maybe then I could've done something to help. He seemed so scared. He probably felt so alone. Even us, his teammates and friends, couldn't bring ourselves to help him. He probably hates us." Ragarth sadly stated.

"I... can't believe that happened. I can't accept that as true." She got up and left the room. Ragarth quickly followed suit.

"What are you _doing?_" Ragarth whispered.

"Visiting Sevek. What's it look like to you?" Stillbreeze answered.

"I hope we don't get caught."

"I can't sleep without a Totodile sleep-talking anyways."

Ragarth slightly smiled. _I want to apologize to Sevek too, Stillbreeze. Maybe we can figure out what happened together. We _will_help you through this, Sevek. Trust us._

So, the two snuck out into the main underground room, careful to avoid making a sound. Croagunk was asleep in his cauldron, while Diglett and Dugtrio were asleep near the Sentry post. Wigglytuff was presumeably in his room, while Chatot, hopefully, was there too. They quietly climbed the ladder to the first underground level. They noticed Chatot asleep on the base of the second ladder, which seemed very perplexing.

Ragarth checked the Treasure Bag and found a Sleep Seed. He showed Stillbreeze the seed and she used her vines to place the seed in Chatot's mouth. When he swallowed the seed, she moved him out of the way and they continued out into the night.

They quietly walked through Treasure Town until they saw a giant egg-shaped building. It still had its lights on, perhaps just in case something happened during the night? They walked in and immediately saw a big, round, egg-carrying, pink and white Pokemon: Blissey.

"Hello, can I help you two in any way?" She asked kindly, despite the extremely late hour.

"Er... yeah. Do you know if we can visit our friend? He's a Totodile named Sevek."

Smiling, Blissey said, "you two _do_ realize what time it is, right?"

"S-sorry."

"But, you two seem worried. I'll wake him up. Wait here for a little bit." Blissey walked away. When she returned, Sevek was with her. He seemed somewhat sad.

"H-hey, Sev!" Stillbreeze used as much pep as possible.

"How are you Sevek?" Ragarth asked.

"Fine... my injuries already healed thanks to Miss Blissey. So why are you two visiting this late? You'll probably be kicked off the Expedition. Like I probably will."

"Then we'll risk it!" Stillbreeze snarled, not enjoying a second of Sevek's attitude. "Anyways, I have a hard time sleeping without your sleep-talking!"

Sevek was shocked by her sudden change of attitude.

"You're our Leader! We're not just gonna stand by idly while you are hurt. You're our friend! We won't abandon you."

Sevek was moved by his friends' actions. "Hey, Miss Blissey. Do you think I'm okay enough to go back to the guild with them?"

"You should be. Just be careful. Whatever made you act like that is something that should be avoided. Try not to be too reckless."

"Yes Ma'am!" After paying Blissey, they went back to the guild for whatever sleep they could get.

By the next morning, Sevek and the Team were raring to go as normal. Over the night, Sevek had told the Team that he was sorry for what he'd done. They believed him and decided to treat him like they always had.

Chatot and Wigglytuff welcomed Sevek back and also did what no one really thought they would do for Sevek at this point: told him he and his Team were still in the running for the Expedition. "It wasn't your fault. Don't think it was. But, try to control yourself when you feel weak." Wigglytuff told him in front of the other guild members.

"Right. Don't worry. I won't make you regret giving me a second chance!" Sevek said, with a new energy. "I'm sorry for scaring everyone, though."

"Hey hey hey, don't think that you're not cared for here, Sevek." Corphish started.

"YEAH, we just were a BIT SCARED, THAT'S ALL." Loudred finished.

"We still believe in you, yup yup." Bidoof said, lifting Sevek's spirits.

"Thanks guys!"

The Pokemon dispersed and Team Sky went off to see Treasure Town before going off on more missions. Firstly, they ran into Electivire's Link Shop. The shop was shaped like Electivire and was black and yellow.

"Howdy. How can I help you today?" Electivire asked.

Stillbreeze couldn't see any merchandise, so she asked, "what's linking?"

"Oh, linking is where moves are able to be used simultaneously. Kinda like this." He used a Thunder Punch aimed at nothing along with Thunder. Both moves came around the same time and struck about the same time, too.

Sevek thought about it, then asked, "Hey, did a Magmar named Blitz come by here yesterday?"

"As a matter of fact, yeah, he did. Somethin' up?"

"Well..." Sevek explained what happened, intentionally leaving out his 'incident'.

"I see, that no-good Magmar attacked you with what I taught him, huh? I'm sorry that happened. If you want, I could probably teach you three the same, though."

Ragarth stepped up, "Not today, sorry. But, maybe later. Thanks for the information, though Electivire. If we change our minds, we'll be back for sure."

"Alright. See ya then."

They prepared themselves for a mission, but noticed a staircase where a large rock used to be a little while ago. A sign next to it said: "Spina's Cafe of Hopes and Dreams". Shrugging, Sevek led the Team into the new shop.

Inside was a cheery atmosphere. A white panda with red splotches over his fur was taking care of Pokemon's drinks. Probably Spinda. On the other side of the cafe were two blue Pokemon, Wobbufet and Wynaut. They seemed to be taking random items for drawings and exchange for other items.

"Wow, this shop seems great." Sevek said, seeing all the happy Pokemon sitting at tables either drinking delicious looking drinks or checking out items.

"Yeah, let's check it out." Ragarth agreed. They walked up to Spinda and exchanged greetings.

"How would you like samples of my work first?" Spinda offered. "Everything here is free anyways."

"Sure." The three each tried a sample. Sevek had a delicious Cheri Berry Smoothie. Stillbreeze had a sweet Oran Berry Drink, while Ragarth had a spicy Blast Seed Drink.

Surprisingly, nothing happened when Ragarth drank the sample. Spinda explained to them that his drinks normally only have nutritional benefits. "Anyways, who wants to breathe fire right after a tasty drink?"

"So, would you please make something with my X-Eye Seed?" Sevek asked.

"I have no idea what you'd expect from that, but okay!" Spinda started making a shake out of the seed. "Shake it this way...Shake it that way...Spin... and Done! Here's your drink, Sevek!" Spinda finished, giving Sevek the strange blue drink.

"Great!" Sevek drank the drink and instantly got dizzy. He started to slightly totter, then fell backwards on his tail. "That's some good stuff alright...wow! I'm seriously dizzy! No wonder Wilds hate this seed! Haha, wow."

"I think you've had enough," Stillbreeze said, dragging Sevek back. Do you have anything that might make the effects wear off faster?"

"Maybe... do you have any Heal Seeds? Those should work fastest." He looked at Sevek, who was trying to chase his tail. "Kinda makes me want to try one of those drinks on my day off. Ha!" When Sevek actually bit his tail, Spinda said, "I'll probably need a Heal Seed drink on hand though."

Ragarth and Stillbreeze both noticed that Sevek was the one holding the Treasure Bag. Spinda caught on quickly, too. "Hmm... so who's unlucky enough to try to pull this one off?" The three Pokemon did a quick bet, Ragarth lost.

"Hey Sev... Can I have the bag?" He tried asking nicely.

Sevek, gnawing on his tail, didn't answer. Instead, he decided to drop his tail and spit a small amount of water at Ragarth. It managed to hit Ragarth head-on, making the little green Cyndaquil spit out the bit of water. "Glub...fwa. Come on... I really didn't ask for a cold bath." he complained.

Stillbreeze laughed at him. "Looks like Sev gave you the bath you needed Ragarth!"

"Not funny!" Ragarth shook off some of the extra water. He used Quick Attack to avoid Sevek's little water bursts, and finally snatched the Treasure Bag from his Leader. He checked the Treasure Bag for a Heal Seed, but pulled out the Totter Orb. "Nope, not right." He was ready to put it back into the bag, when Sevek playfully bit his foot, making him accidentally use the Totter Orb. Everyone in the cafe, aside from Spinda (due to his Own Tempo ability) became confused.

Spinda sighed. _Looks like our new customers are going to be a handful. Eh, at least they know how to have fun._ He shrugged. He went back into his personal storage room and found a bunch of Heal Seeds. _Time to start making loads of drinks!_So, Spinda began the task of making Heal Seed drinks for the Pokemon gathered. A little while later, everyone was back to normal. Some even began to joke about the affair. Very few thought anything about it, as they still got a free and delicious drink. After saying good-bye for the time being, Team Sky left to return to the guild.

To their surprise, they saw Wigglytuff giving instructions to Chimecho. Chimecho nodded and Wigglytuff went back down the ladder.

"Hey! Chimecho! What's up?" Sevek asked, walking over to the little wind chime Pokemon.

"Hi, Sevek! Heehee, Guildmaster gave me the task of helping our guild members and associates by starting an Assembly. He said that since a lot of Pokemon want to join Teams, but don't really feel like being on constant duty, that it'd be good for one of us to have a place where they could find their members when they need to go on duty. I'd also be the go-between for the Teams and their members! I'll try my best to help out the Teams! You guys too!"

"Awesome! Glad to hear that, Chimecho!"

"How does it work?" Ragarth asked.

"Well, sometimes Pokemon, Wilds included, come to respect the Pokemon that either protect them or defeat them. It's then that they sometimes ask to join a Team. If they do, but don't want to join for a full-time duty or for you guys: go through apprenticeship, then they would come to me. I'd ask them to come to duty whenever you need them, which allows you guys to get more accomplished and have more teammates as well."

"That sounds like a full-time job, Chimecho." Stillbreeze admitted. "But you definitely would be the Pokemon for the job."

"Thanks, Stillbreeze. Just let me know if you get any members in the field, okay?"

"Alright."

"Oh! And Croagunk's starting his shop today, too! You should check it out."

"Okay, we will. Thanks Chimecho."

And so the three Pokemon of Team Sky climbed down the ladder to the second underground level of the guild. There, they saw Croagunk putting the finishing touches on his cauldron. "Meh-heh-heh, hello Team Sky. I take it Chimecho advertised for me? Meh-heh-heh. Alright, this is Croagunk's Swap Shop. Rare power boost items are brought here by other Pokemon around Treasure Town. Then they trade their items for other items. You could end up with some pretty rare items in the end."

"Cool!"

"Meh-heh-heh. Sadly, you three can't use my shop yet. I know for a fact you don't have any rare items yet. I'll let you know when you can start swapping... for a modest fee of course. Meh-heh-heh." Croagunk went back to his couldron and brought back an item. "This," he said, pointing to a fang, "is a Totodile Fang. I'd give it to you, Sevek, but you have to find something to trade that's just as rare first. I'll hold onto it for you, Meh-heh-heh."

"Thanks. What does it do?" Sevek asked, truly curious.

"It raises the power of your attacks, like Water Gun, for example. Of course, you have to be holding onto it, though."

"I see. Thanks again Croagunk." With that, Team Sky started off again, but was stopped by Chatot.

"Hello, you three. You're just in time to hear of our guild's new allies: Team Triforce. They decided to tag along for the Expedition. If you would please greet them. Come this way." He motioned for the Team to follow him into Wigglytuff's room. They quickly gave each other worried looks, then followed Chatot.

_I hope nothing bad happens..._Sevek thought as he emerged into Wigglytuff's room. He immediately saw Blitz and the rest of Team Triforce. When Blitz looked back at him, the two Pokemon both immediately started growling at each other.

"Been a little bit, hasn't it, Sevek?" Blitz glared.

"Yep...certainly has..." Sevek met his glare.

Stillbreeze and Ragarth, along with Thorn and Crasher moved their leaders apart. Both Teams glared with a bit of hatred towards the other, however.

This did not go unnoticed by Wigglytuff and Chatot. Wigglytuff moved up to the two Teams and told them: "Look, I know there's problems between your two Teams now. BUT! I think this Expedition will be good for both of your Teams, Sevek, Blitz. Just bear with this for a little while. After the Expedition, hopefully you guys can work out your differences. Maybe even be friends. I'm not saying you have to like this... but this is what we're doing."

"Remember, both of your Teams can easily be kicked off the Expedition if there are any problems. Also, Team Sky: we need you three to go on a mission in Apple Woods. Guildmaster Wigglytuff has run low on Perfect Apples and-"

"And I _really really need_my favorite food for dinner! Without my Perfect Apple... I'd...I'd... I don't even know!" Wigglytuff's eyes were slightly moist. He actually looked pretty pathetic, to say the least.

"Okay, don't worry Wigglytuff. We'll get your Perfect Apples before dinnertime." Sevek announced. _Why do I feel so angry whenever I see Blitz? It's only Blitz that infuriates me... I probably should stay away from him if I can help it._ "Come on, Team! Let's get those Perfect Apples!" With that, Team Sky officially left on the Perfect Apple Mission.

At the entrance of Apple Woods, they noticed that the Woods would host a _lot_ of Grass and Bug-Types. The weather was pleasant and warm. The trees didn't look very pressed together either. All-in-all, it seemed like a cheerful place, minus the Wilds overrunning it, of course. The trees were all covered in small Apples and a few Berries.

"Alright, let's get going. Heehee! If we do this for the Guildmaster, think we might have a chance at the Expedition?" Sevek asked with a silly grin.

"Definitely!" Ragarth agreed. "Just as long as we don't screw this up."

"Let's go already." Stillbreeze impatiently added.

Going pretty deep inside Apple Woods, the trio saw a large black and gold snake chasing a small brown and white fox-like Pokemon. A Seviper and an Eevee. The Seviper managed to catch the Eevee in a Wrap attack and then slammed the poor thing against a tree as hard as it could. It then dropped the unconscious and slightly bloody Eevee and prepared to kill it with a Poison Tail.

Sevek managed to stop Seviper in its tracks with a Stun Seed. Sevek smiled at his success, then he and his Team went to check on Eevee. Ragarth, asked for a few Oran and Pecha Berries that would help the Eevee out a little. Ragarth told them: "She should be fine, but she needs a bit of rest. Stillbreeze, would you direct a Synthesis on her?"

"Sure, no problem." With that, the Chikorita used Synthesis. As the energy started coming to her, she redirected it to the Eevee, who started glowing a bright green color. She started to recover some energy and finally woke up. "It worked!"

"What worked?" Eevee asked. She seemed curious about her surroundings. "We're still in the woods, right?" Her voice sounded pretty young. Not quite a little kid, but definitely not an adult. "By the way... who are you all?"

"Er... we're Team Sky." Ragarth said, finding himself slightly infatuated with the little Eevee. "I'm Ragarth, this is Sevek, and this is Stillbreeze. Pleased to meet you!"

"Heehee! I'm Serenity! Happy to see you!" Running up to the stunned Seviper, she said, "Meanie! I said I was sorry! I didn't mean to fall on your head. I fell from a tree. It's kinda hard to stop yourself from falling, ya know!" Running back to Team Sky, she happily said, "Thanks for saving me from Seviper. I think he said something about needing something to eat. Glad it wasn't me!"

"Come on, we need to get you out of here." Stillbreeze said.

"But. If we leave without getting Wigglytuff's Perfect Apples, we'll be in big trouble." Ragarth pointed out.

"Wigglytuff? As in Wigglytuff's Guild? You guys are apprentices?"

"Yep! We're Exploration Team Sky. Er... didn't Ragarth say that already?" Sevek laughed. "Feel like tagging along with us for a little while? We need to get some Perfect Apples. And likely turn Seviper in to the authorities."

"Sure! In all honesty I've always wanted to be on an Exploration Team! Just... Mum said I'm too young. So I went off to prove her wrong! If all my sisters can go Exploring, then why not me?"

Seviper, angry, shouted, "Gloom, KILL THEM!"

A giant Gloom jumped down from the trees. It smelled _horrible!_ The nearby Pokemon started gagging a little. It looked fairly tough.

"Sevek! Keep Seviper and Serenity safe! I'll play your defense. Ragarth, Gloom's a Grass-Type like me. Fire should be really strong against it. Ember should be super-effective against it."

"Right." Both said in unison. Sevek grabbed Seviper and tied the snake with a vine to his waist. He pulled Serenity back as well. Ragarth took the lead, hoping to Arceus above that he could still maintain a Ember.

Gloom started off with a powerful Giga Drain. Ragarth and Stillbreeze easily dodged the slow moving attack and retaliated with a Geo Pebble mixed with an Ember. The fiery pebble smacked Gloom in the forehead and caught its flower on fire. It panicked and fled, screaming in a low, dumb way: "fire bad, FIRE BAD!"

Moving back together, Sevek commented, "Wow. He may have been big... but that's about it. I just wish he'd've stayed long enough for me to douse that burn. It must hurt a lot. Oh! And I guess you've finally mastered using your Fire-Type moves. Awesome!"

Ragarth happily said, "yep. I think my luck's finally turning around!"

"You guys are pretty strong." Serenity mentioned. "I want to join you. You have fun and are strong. _And _you get to see all kinds of new places! Can I please?"

"Sure. But only if your mom and Wigglytuff say yes, okay?" Sevek answered.

"Thank you thank you thank you!"

"No problem."

"Let's go already."

With that, they went further in the woods. When they came upon a large tree, they knew they'd reached the depths of the woods, where the Perfect Apples were located. There was just one problem: the Perfect Apples were waaay up high in the tree, and there was no possible way to reach them.

"Hey Ragarth, since I'm tied up, how 'bout you catch the Perfect Apples while Stillbreeze uses Razor Leaf to knock the apples down. Do you think that'd work?"

Ragarth gave the idea a brief thought. _I _am_ fast enough... it shouldn't be too much of a problem. We just can't mess up._ "Yeah, should work. Let's try it."

Stillbreeze got in position and fired off a few leaves. Sadly, one of the leaves sliced the apple as Ragarth was about to catch it, splattering the little green Cyndaquil in Perfect Apple Juice. The halves of the apple whacked his head, making Serenity laugh. He tossed the halves at her and told her she could eat those if she wanted to. She did, enjoying every moment of it all.

"Stillbreeze. That kind of hurt." He licked at some of the juice. "But I agree with Serenity: it's tasty!"

"Uh... try not to whack him this time." The overworked Totodile asked.

"Hmph. I'll keep it at one leaf this time." She focused her yellow eyes on her target: the stem. The leaf was fired and Ragarth leaped after it, barely catching it in time. "Better?"

"Much!"

"If we wouldn't get killed for it, I'd say these would be great to take over to Spinda's Cafe to make drinks of." Ragarth joked, still licking at the juice on his head. He went slightly cross-eyed after going after some juice on his nose and fell on his back. His friends laughed in good humor. "Oof! Uh," giving Stillbreeze the Perfect Apple, they continued their little, yet fun mission. After they'd gathered lots of Perfect Apples, they left for the guild.

However, in order to drop off Seviper, they stopped at Magnezone's Jail first. Upon entering, they ran into Deputy Magnemite. They showed him Seviper.

"This Pokemon is the outlaw Vincint. He has a nasty habit of eating smaller Pokemon, usually sticking to eating younger Pokemon. Thank you for capturing him."

Magnemite used Thunder Wave on Seviper, who had been untied from the vine, and took him to a jail cell. "I also see you have the missing Pokemon: Serenity. Wigglytuff should help you find her mother."

"Alright let's go home now. It's almost dinner time."

And so, the four Pokemon all walked back to the guild. They took the Perfect Apples to the larder and then got to eat. Wigglytuff decided it would be okay for Team Sky to have Serenity as a Team Member, but first cleared the idea with Serenity's mother, who agreed the time had come to let Serenity join a Team.

During dinner, everyone got to eat delicious Apples, Berries, and Juice, courtesy of the recently opened Spinda's Cafe. Before anyone could leave, however, Chatot gave an important announcement. "Everyone. Before you leave. I'd like to tell you that within two days, we'll announce the members for the Expedition."

At this, everyone cheered and gossipped about before washing up and going to sleep.

* * *

Far, far away from Treasure Town that very night, in a dungeon known as the Limestone Cavern, the two shadowy Pokemon searched for their treasure: another Time Gear. They were careful to avoid the slippery stones as they proceeded.

At last, after trudging through the unnatural silence, they found a large room inside the cavern. Water flowed from both sides of the cool floor. Stalagmites and stalactites even met in some areas. It was a peaceful silence... for now.

A very conspicuous treasure chest was lying unprotected in the middle of a large room.

"Is it in there this time?" The dark Staravia asked, pointing with his wing to the chest.

"No. I have no idea what's in there. But what we're here for is deeper in the cavern. Remember: alters, not chests." The dark Grovyle said calmly. No one seemed to know much about the location, so it was safer to take more time than usual.

Upon reaching the next and final room, they beheld their treasure: the Time Gear. The treasure chest transformed into a Salamance and attempted to scare off the intruders. It roared and bore its fangs. It slashed and bit, but the two Pokemon overpowered it, forcing it into its real form: a Ditto.

"Please... don't take it..."

"I'm afraid we have no choice."

The Time Gear was taken and Time began to freeze. The Grovyle took the Time Gear and the Staravia took Ditto to safety. The two Pokemon ran off to a new unknown destination after this.

**

* * *

**

_Well, there you have it. Thanks again to Sapphire Luminesence for Serenity! Please review! Oh! And I hope you enjoyed my slight remaster of the chapter! More to come soon, as I'm focusing on this one for now until completion. I bet you can't wait for MY ending of this!_

Sevek: Level 15, knows: Bite+1, Scratch, Water Gun, and Wide Slash

**Stillbreeze: Level 14, knows: Tackle, Growl, Razor Leaf, and Synthesis**

**Ragarth: Level 14, knows: Tackle, Ember, Quick Attack, and Smokescreen**

**Serenity: Level 10, knows: Tail Whip, Tackle, Helping Hand, and Sand-Attack**


	7. The Expedition Begins

_**Well, after another long break I'm back. Should update a LOT more when Summer Vacation rolls around! Until then, enjoy this new chapter! (Get off my case Sapphire Luminesense! XD)**_

_**Oh, and vote on my poll for who gets to evolve between Rewritten Sky and Voids of Darkness!**_

* * *

On the day of the Expedition, everyone was psyched to hear who would be chosen for the grand trip to the mysterious Fogbound Lake. As Wigglytuff pulled out his list, everyone was breathless, hoping to dear Arceus above that their name was on that list.

"Alright. Will the Pokemon whose names are called please step forward?" Wigglytuff's excited voice called. The Guildmaster seemed ready to burst from happiness. Did he know something they didn't? "Okay: Loudred,"

"NATURALLY!" the extremely obnoxious Pokemon exclaimed. Inwardly he was thinking, _Whew... that's a load off!_ He walked up to Wigglytuff and waited for the other names to be called.

"Sunflora,"

"Yippee!"

"Chimecho,"

"And Bidoof," Chatot finished for the Guildmaster.

"WAIT! Chatot, I added a few more names to the list. Please read those too!"

"Who...? Ah, alright..." Chatot seemed a bit flustered but continued, struggling to read Wigglytuff's scribbles. _What in Arceus's name did he write here? Uh..._ "Croagunk... Diglett... Dugtrio... Corphish... Sevek... Stillbreeze... Ragarth... and Serenity."

Wigglytuff gave his small friend the chance to fully absorb what he'd just said, his smile growing bigger every second that passed.

Coming to terms with what just happened, Chatot looked at everyone and checked the names and faces. "Guildmaster, your list has everyone attending the Expedition."

"Yep! Isn't it great! I figured everyone wanted to go so badly... and everyone tried so hard the _whole_ time... so I added everyone to the list!"

"Perhaps it would be slightly too much, Guildmaster, sir?" Blitz spoke up calmly and slowly, allowing everyone to feel the full. impact of his words. He cleared his throat and continued, not missing a beat, "Our mobility will be cut as well with all the rookies" he looked at Sevek out of the corner of his eye and the Totodile glared back, "not knowing what to do, which means our supplies _could _run out faster than expected." The Magmar brought up a good point, but it seemed lost on the Guildmaster.

Wigglytuff replied, "That's really only in a worst-case scenario, Blitz. I highly doubt that would happen with this group of apprentices. And to consider that would also mean underestimating my senior Explorers, now wouldn't it?" Wigglytuff looked happily towards Sunflora and Loudred, adding to the impact of his words.

Invisibly, the Magmar cringed and attempted to continue, albeit, not nearly as powerfully as he had originally started out as. "Of course I mean no offence to anyone, Guildmaster. Least of all to your teachings towards these apprentices."

_Yeah, right!_ Stillbreeze thought sarcastically. Her light yellow eyes were focused on the lying Magmar. She still hadn't forgiven him for what he'd done to Sevek, unprovoked, really.

"Okay, well then... Chatot, will you divide everyone into their groups, please?" Wigglytuff continued, oblivious to what just went on.

"Yes Guildmaster," he sang, then he listed, "Sunflora, Loudred, Croagunk, and Bidoof will be in group one."

"Alright."

"I can live with that."

"Gulp!"

"Yippee!"

"Next will be: Corphish, Diglett, Dugtrio, and Chimecho in group two."

"Hey, hey!"

"Sevek, Stillbreeze, Ragarth, and Serenity will travel as a Team for group three. Team Triforce will travel independently, and the Guildmaster and I will travel together. Understood?"

"Yes Chatot!" All the Pokemon, excluding the Guildmaster cheered.

_Why can't I ever travel with the apprentices for once?_ Wigglytuff thought to himself. _It'd probably be loads of fun, unlike traveling with Chatot..._

"Go out and equip yourselves groups, then meet up here when you're ready. When all the groups are present, we will give further instructions." Chatot informed all present.

With that, the groups hastily dispersed and traveled towards Treasure Town.

However, when Team Sky made it to the crossroads, they were quickly stopped by Team Triforce. Crasher the Prinplup and Thorn the Cacturn stopped them from proceeding into the Town.

"Hey! What's up, Tiny?" Crasher taunted Sevek.

"Blitz wants a word with you, Totodile." Thorn directed towards Sevek. The Totodile in question seemed pretty stressed out by just the sight of the two enemy Pokemon. "Blitz says he wants to help throw you in the grave you dug a while ago." The Cacturn seemed oddly okay with the threat he just issued.

Serenity, having absolutely no idea what the bigger Pokemon were talking about, hopped up between Sevek and Crasher and asked, "what's going on here? Why are these guys acting so weird?"

"Because they're really just bullies," Ragarth told her with a worried expression on his face. His dark blue eyes had a look of brotherly concern towards Sevek, who was glaring at Crasher. "Earlier, before we met you, these guys and Blitz attacked us... they put Sevek in the hospital for a little while, too." He completely omitted the part where Sevek went crazy, feeling it wouldn't really matter much to add.

"What! That's awful!" The little Eevee exclaimed, watching Sevek and Crasher glare at each other. Thorn seemed ready to laugh at the two furious Water-Types. His smile was unnerving, to say the least. "Sevvy! You _are _okay, right?"

Not taking his eyes from Crasher and Thorn, he said in an almost emotionless manner: "I'm fine now, Serenity."

_I don't like how tense Sevek is. I can already tell things aren't going to turn out well. I'd better..._ Stillbreeze moved between the angry Pokemon and grabbed Sevek and Serenity with her vines, shocking them, and dragged them as she walked towards Treasure Town. Ragarth followed, praying to Dear Arceus above that Team Triforce didn't try anything.

Apparently he didn't pray strongly enough. Crasher hopped right in front of Stillbreeze while Thorn closed any possible retreats.

"Like I said," Thorn calmly stated, "Blitz wants to see you, Sevek. You already got into a world of pain the first time you crossed him. I don't recommend doing that again."

"Leave Sevvy alone!" Serenity yelled, somehow freeing herself from Stillbreeze's vine. She agilely Tackled the Cacturn, knocking him to the ground, slightly dizzied.

Chikorita, Totodile, and Cyndaquil all had similar looks of shock on their faces. Stillbreeze lost her focus and released the vine holding Sevek. Sevek's large jaw dropped slightly after seeing his little friend's power (1). Ragarth's sapphire eyes were wide with awe towards Serenity's act.

"Wow..." The green Cyndaquil said amazed.

"Remind me not to cross you, Serenity." Stillbreeze said in amusement, mostly kidding around.

"Right! Will do!" Serenity answered, not quite catching the joke. She giggled a little. "I'm a little stronger than I led you to believe, aren't I!" She seemed confident in this, despite the fact that the Seviper from Apple Woods really put her in her place.

_She's so happy and peppy dispite what happened to her... I wish I were like that._ Ragarth thought, then shivered a bit when thoughts of Persian came to mind.

"Ya okay Thorn?" Crasher asked, not very concerned about his partner in the least. Actually, he sounded amused that a big bad Cacturn would lose such a one-sided fight. "The whittle Eevee didn't hurt ya, did she?"

Glaring at Crasher, Thorn got back on his feet and replied angrily, "I'm fine moron. Just wasn't expecting that much from an Eevee of her size."

"Heheheh," Crasher chuckled.

"This is ridiculous!" Stillbreeze interjected. She threw the trouble making Prinplup into the annoyed Cacturn with her vines and snapped: "Leave us alone!"

After that, the four Pokemon continued on their way to stock up on supplies. They started out laughing about what happened back at the crossroads, when Sevek thanked his Team for their help.

The Town itself was bright and beautiful as normal. The atmosphere was light and it seemed like someone was playing a soft, whimsical music.

"Okay. Sevek, Ragarth: you two go off to Auntie Kanghaskan's Storage. Get the items we'll need for a long trip. Serenity, you and I will take care of banking and buying sensible things for the trip. Any requests?" Stillbreeze inquired.

"Blast Seeds, Stun Seeds, and Sleep Seeds are things I'll probably need." Sevek answered. "I'll see how many we have in Storage, but it probably isn't much."

"Big or Huge Apples would definitely be smart to bring, too. Oh! and Reviver Seeds will definitely come in handy." Ragarth added.

"Right. Then let's go Team," Stillbreeze finished. The Team went off to their 'assigned' locations, the guys to the Storage, and the girls to the Bank and Shop.

"Welcome to Duskull's Bank," a Ghost-Type Pokemon with a skull-like face and small, wispy body greeted as it noticed a Chikorita and Eevee walk into his bank. The building the two had walked into looked just like its caretaker, which slightly unnerved Serenity. The Duskull's single glowing red eye followed the two, ensuring that they were up to only right.

"Hello Duskull," Stillbreeze acknowledged. Serenity was starting to shake a bit, her fur slightly puffing up, and eyes wide. Noticing this, Stillbreeze asked, "what's the matter? Don't tell me you're afraid of Duskull... are you?"

Shaking her head violently, Serenity exclaimed, "Nope! No! Why would I be? It's not like he's a scary ghost or something? Right?"

Stillbreeze rolled her eyes and said, "_sure_ you're not." Then, to Duskull, she said, "we'd like a withdraw of two thousand Poke, please."

"Very well then," Duskull murmured as he left to get Team Sky's money. When he returned, he gave Stillbreeze the money and told the duo: "Farewell. I hope to see you again when you deposit more Poke."

"Sure thing," Then under her breath so that only Serenity could hear: "ya greedy banker..."Serenity giggled as they left for the Kecleon Market.

The boys had left directly for Auntie Kanghaskan's Storage. When the large building shaped like a Kanghaskan appeared before them, they entered it and saw the Auntie behind the counter, taking care of her little one.

"Hewo!" Baby Kanghaskan greeted, losing his balance and nearly falling off the counter. He was caught by his mama before he could fall down. "Whew!"

"Watch where you totter, Dear." She directed toward her young one. To Sevek and Ragarth she said, "Hello dears. Anything I can get for you?"

"Yeah," Ragarth started, "how many Reviver, Stun, Blast, and Sleep Seeds do we have?"

"Let me see..." She pulled out her list of Team Sky's supplies. "Hmm... Reviver Seeds... you have three in stock. Sleep Seeds... it looks like only one, Blast Seeds... none, and Stun Seeds... two. Would you like me to get any of that?"

"Uh, yes please, all of it if you could. Oh! And if we have any Apples, could you get some of those as well?"

"Of course Dear." She lightly bounced off to fetch the Team's items. Her thick tan tail lightly lifted and fell in beat.

Upon her return, she had everything that the two had asked for in her clawed hand. She gave the items to Sevek, who was currently holding the Treasure Bag. He placed everything in carefully, ensuring that he didn't set off anything, and thanked Auntie Kanghaskan for getting everything so quickly. The two boys went off to find Stillbreeze and Serenity at the Kecleon Market.

"You guys get everything?" Stillbreeze asked.

"Yep. Got everything that'll be useful," Sevek answered.

"Good. We have some spending money, so we might as well buy some more useful items."

Both Kecleon brothers, purple and green, heard this. "Hello Sevek and Stillbreeze-"

"Hello Ragarth and Serenity!" The two brothers interrupted each other, trying to get the Team's business.

Ragarth walked up to the green, elder Kecleon and asked, "Do you have any Seeds we can buy?" A light wind appeared and started ruffling his fur.

"Sure, sure!" the older Kecleon sang, much to the chargane of his younger brother. He pulled a bag of Seeds up from his stand and showed Stillbreeze which Seeds he had in what quantities. "Which ones would you like?"

"We'd like one Reviver Seed, two Blast Seeds, a Sleep Seed, and a Stun Seed."

"That'll be one thousand twenty-five Poke please." Upon being paid, he gave the Team the Seeds in question and wished them a good Expedition as the Team walked away.

By the time the four Teammates made it back to the Guild, they noticed about everyone was back and waiting. The only Pokemon still missing were Bidoof and Dugtrio. Knowing Dugtrio, however, they really already had a decent idea of where he was: Sharpedo Bluff, as he enjoyed talking to the sea there.

"You lot READY?" Loudred asked.

"Yep." Sevek answered, an excited spark now lighting his blue eyes.

"Don't worry Loudred, we'll leave some treasure for you." Stillbreeze commented snidely.

"Hmph! You ROOKIE _are_ GOOD, but not NEARLY good enough to beat ME to the TREASURE!"

Locking her pink eyes on Loudred's black eyes, Serenity spouted, "Challenge accepted!"

Ragarth let out a light groan, _Here we go again. Oh well, at least this time the 'challenge' is constructive._ He let a small smile appear on his face. "Just as long as no one gets hurt, I'm okay."

"Liek WE would EVER do that?" Loudred fumed, slightly scaring timid Ragarth.

"N-no! Just reminding everyone, that's all!"

"Humph!"

"Everyone!" Chatot's voice called, "time to meet up for the briefing!"

"May the best Team win..." The young Chikorita smirked, "more than likely, ours."

"You'll see! Diglett and I will BEAT YOU to the TREASURE! Right Diglett?" Loudred boomed, startling his little mole-friend.

"Er-y-yep! Right Loudred!"

"That means your Teams too, Sky and Blast!" Chatot's irritation was noticed by all. "Come on, you're holding up the other Teams."

With muttered sorries, the two Teams took their places in the large circle of Pokemon. Chatot and Guildmaster Wigglytuff were standing in the center.

Upon noticing he had everyone's attention, Wigglytuff started, "and now let's all hear Chatot's briefing on our Expedition!" He smiled mischievously when his friend was caught off-guard.

"Er... yes... um..." Regaining some composure, Chatot continued, "As you know, the place we will be investigating is Fogbound Lake. It's a place shrouded in mystery and rumored to contain a treasure greater than all others."

"Whoo-hoo!" Bidoof called out merrily, interrupting Chatot and gaining a glare from the little colorful bird. He quickly quieted down, looking at the grassy floor.

"Er-hem!" Chatot continued, "we will be trying our best to find the treasure none so far have found. If you open your Wonder Maps, you'll be able to see the area we will be exploring. It's down in the East and slightly South."

"Wait," Ragarth interjected, "if it's location is mapped, then why hasn't the treasure been found?" Others seemed to nod in agreement.

"That," Wigglytuff explained mysteriously, "is because of the fog that covers the area. So far, none have been able to break through that fog and find the treasure. That's why we'll set up camp at the nearby forest: Foggy Forest, since the fog there isn't nearly as bad as it is further along."

"Which is also why we want you all to be prepared for a long journey, as even we aren't entirely sure when we'll return." Chatot continued.

"But!" The lovable pink and white balloon Pokemon happily exclaimed, "it's bound to be tons of fun!"

_And profitable,_ Blitz mentally commented. A slight smile appeared on his face. _And... as good a time as any to take out Sevek! Next time we fight, I'll use all my power to crush you!_ He thought as he watched Sevek.

_Oh joy, _Thorn thought, looking at his leader and what his leader was looking at. _He's planning something... I just hope he doesn't get us killed. the threat of running into Primals anymore is just too high. But, as long as we play nice, we shouldn't be bothered too horribly much._ Snapping back to the present, the cactus Pokemon caught the end of Chatot's shpiel.

"It doesn't matter _too_ much how you choose to get there, but please be sure to get to the Foggy Forest as soon as possible. We will camp out there for one week, then either the Guildmaster or I will be the only one in the camp for a while, as the others will be busy exploring and trying to figure out how to get to Fogbound Lake. Any injured Pokemon will have to stay in the camp for the duration of the Expedition. Understood?"

"Yes Chatot sir," everyone said together.

"Good, then let's move out!" He sang.

* * *

With that, the groups banded together and climbed up the ladders to the outside of the Guild. The sun's warmth and pleasant breeze of the wind greeted the Explorers as they walked one-by-one into their new goals and ambitions, into a new Exploration. Some overjoyed; some nervous; some dead serious about what was to come; some, with dark thoughts.

They walked together towards the singular path's many breaks. Only when they had reached those breaks did they divide.

Loudred, Sunflora, Bidoof, and Croagunk took the forest path, while Diglett, Dugtrio, Corphish, and Chimecho took the earthy path leading towards the mountains. Team Triforce took a second mountainous path, while Team Sky, Wigglytuff, and Chatot all took the coastal path. All these paths would eventually lead directly to Foggy Forest.

Sevek and Serenity mostly talked to the Guildmaster, while Stillbreeze and Ragarth mainly talked to Chatot.

"Hey Chatot, sir," Ragarth started, glancing over to Sevek, making sure the Totodile wasn't paying attention before continuing, "it's not like I don't trust Sevek, but I'm worried about him. I guess when he kind of lost it on Blitz it scared me a bit too much."

"Ah," Chatot nodded, "yes, it is worrisome, but you should also know that with his peppy attitude, it should happen to him again. But, on the other hand, it could very well be his age and experience level that could've made his Torrent ability cause the problem."

"What do you mean?" Stillbreeze asked, thinking back to how well Sevek handled the Persian mission.

"Well, Sevek is fairly young, much like the rest of you. However, along with age is experience- not power but experience- that you two may have that he may not. That much depends on his family and the area he was raised in. However, if he lacks too much experience, relying on his Torrent ability can be dangerous, as it caused a lot of stress on the body and mind. I'm guessing that when Sevek finally has enough experience, he'll be able to control his power." Chatot seemed happy with his explanation, which was a load off for Stillbreeze and Ragarth.

"So," Stillbreeze recapped, "all we need to do is give Sevek some extra battle experience?"

"Correct."

"My questions are: who _are _Sevek's parents? Why doesn't he have basic experience, when even those like me have that?' Ragarth lightly scratched the side of his head in confusion.

"That _is_ a good question. Have either of you heard anything about Sevek's family or where he's from?"

"Not really." Stillbreeze said dispiritedly.

"But, remember what Sevek said, about how Draco claimed he smelled like a Grass-Type..." Ragarth mentioned, his dark blue eyes looking inquisitive.

"Is that even possible?"

"Believe it or not... yes. If they have similar body structures, the two of different types could be together."

"Gross."

Chatot chuckled and noticed the change in scenery. "Oh! We're nearing Craggy Coast."

Looking out, they noticed the ground under them had changed into wet, rocky terrain. An invigorating salty breeze killed off some of the day's heat, while in the sky, there wasn't much sign of a cloud, just blue skies and the ever-present sun. A large dual opening was located in the center of an upcoming cave.

Upon reaching the dual entrance, the two Teams gathered to figure out their next moves. That was when Serenity noticed a stone carved to look like a Kanghaskan.

"Oooh, look at this!" the pink eyed Eevee exclaimed in wonder. When the others came by and saw the statue as well, Wigglytuff explained a little.

"This is known as a Kanghaskan Rock. They're pretty useful, as they let you store and withdraw items from your storage thanks to a special warp technology. Heehee! Reminds me of the times I went Exploring as an apprentice! Heehee!" Wigglytuff had a big happy grin on his face and his eyes shone with exciting memories passed.

"Cool!" Sevek chimed in, "that'll really be useful later one! Thanks Wigglytuff!"

"No problem,." Looking back to the dual mouth of the cave, he asked the young Explorers, "now, which way should we go? The path or the Coast?"

"Going through the Coast will be faster, more than likely," Stillbreeze informed.

"But that also means more Water-Types." Ragarth gulped, looked at his Teammates, and continued, "but, I trust you guys. Let's take the Coast."

"Yep!" Sevek exclaimed, then impishly he said, "no worries, Stillbreeze'll likely scare away any Water-Types with her mighty 'Leaf of Justice!'" He ended jokingly serious and with a mighty pose. However, he couldn't keep a straight face and burst out laughing. He was promptly smacked around by Stillbreeze's vines.

Soon after, the six Pokemon made progress though Craggy Coast. Like was expected, many Water-Types were in the areas flooded by the waters of the area. They, however, were weak compared to everyone traveling together and were easily subdued. The cave itself seemed pretty warm with a smidge of humidity. Light easily filtered in and was reflected about with the flooded areas of the cave.

The dungeon was fairly small, allowing the travelers to continue on their way.

Shortly after passing Craggy Coast, the terrain started lifting upwards towards a large mountain called Mount Horn. The rocky ground changed from darker colors to a lighter brown and the saltiness abandoned the air. Any humidity was dropped as the temperature dropped. Night time was coming soon, indicated by the sun's near setting and the appearance of stars.

After they reached a good altitude, Wigglytuff suggested the group stopped traveling for the night. They all agreed, settled down, ate their respectively packed foods, and laid down to sleep under the starry night sky.

* * *

About the time the sun began rising in the dim, rusty sky, everyone was awake, fed, and ready to take on the challenges of the day. They climbed further up Mt. Horn until they reached the peak, after that, they had to climb all the way back down. By the time the group was at the mountain's base, the sun had reached the noon-time position. All the way, however, fun stories were told and listened to, speeding up the journey and making it interesting. Overall, the dungeon was long, yet easy to pass through.

Shortly after crossing Mt. Horn, the group made it to an extremely foggy forest. Colors and shapes were the only things easily made out in this place. It didn't seem very hostile, in fact, it seemed pretty empty and quiet. They must've been the first ones to enter the forest.

"Alright. As we're likely the first ones here, it will be a good idea to set up a base camp so that the others will know to meet here. Setting up our respective tents and setting our supplies around is what should be done." Chatot announced.

"Hey Chatot," Ragarth said, slightly cutting in, "I was wondering if we could ask Sevek some questions first."

"Ah, of course."

"Huh?" A thought bugged him as memories of another forest came to his memory. _Why does this place seem _really _familiar?_ Visions of the other forest came from his memory. The memories he didn't know he had. The other forest... it was quiet like this one, but everything about it screamed of danger and tragedy. The fog surrounding it was an ominous shadowy color and its air was cold and bitter. _Is this the same forest? Or..._ His thoughts were interrupted when Chatot asked him a question.

"Sevek, do you remember who all is part of your family?"

"Uh... not really. Uh..." another memory flashed before his eyes. A dark lizard like Pokemon with a strange, long leaf on its head and leaves on its arms and for a tail was standing next to what he asumed was his own infant form. The Pokemon didn't seem happy or sad, as it watched its son and seemingly, watched for something else. "Wait! I think I remember Dad being a lizard like Pokemon. He has this weird leaf or something on his head. Maybe a Grass-Type, but... the colors seem _way_ off for a Grass-Type."

_From what he's described so far... my best guess would be a Grovyle. But it seems strange that one would stay with either a Croconaw or Feraligatr that long. After all, the two species are at war currently._Chatot thought. "What colors? If you can remember that."

"Um... Idon't really remember anything other than them being really weird for a Grass-Type. Sorry..."

"It's alright. Do you remember having much battle experience?"

Another set of memories hit him before he could comment. A wicked looking Charmeleon attacking with fire. His father? defending and taking the hit rather than letting it hit him... vicious looking cat-like Pokemon with sharp claws and gem eyes... the environment full of stones and darkness... and evil gleaming eyes. Words coming back to him from a voice unknown: "it's too dangerous to keep them here. If we do, they'll end up dead. They can't train... the enemies here are too vicious anyways... and I don't want this world's darkness to overcome them..."

Coming back to himself to answer Chatot, he said, "I'm pretty sure I didn't train much. I think they said it was way too dangerous to do that."

_Maybe he _is _from the war zone, then?_ "Can you identify where your home is?"

"I don't think so. I've never seen a place like it before, really. I'd look on a map, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't find it anywhere."

"Ah, that's vexing." Chatot murmured. "Alright, let's attempt to set up camp anyways. We don't want the others to miss us just because of a little chat!"

"Yes sir!"

* * *

_**Eh, I'm starting to get a separate plot... kinda.**_

_**1) Sevek was just impressed with her strength, he's not the one with the crush**_

_**Sevek: Lvl 16**_

_**Stillbreeze: Lvl 15**_

_**Ragarth: Lvl 15**_

_**Serenity: Lvl 12**_

_**Silver Rank!**_


	8. Calligine Belli

_**After a short-ish break I returned with a new chapter! Oh, and Blitz swears a little at the end. You have been warned.**_

* * *

Time passed, and eventually the last day of waiting had arrived. Even though everyone was used to waking early for guildwork, they all seemed to be tired and anxious. Loudred's Team was missing. Everyone else had come to the campsite at Foggy Forest days ago. No one ever saw Loudred, Sunflora, Bidoof, or Croagunk the entire time they had been waiting.

Wigglytuff himself seemed very worried and tired. He paced back and forth, seemingly weighing his different options for whatever reason. Chatot seemed to share the Guildmaster's concerns, as he too, had a difficult expression on his face.

_I _know _something's wrong,_ Sevek thought, _Wigglytuff _never_ worries about _anything. _For him to be _this _obviously worried, something must've happened to Loudred's lot._ The young Totodile slightly cringed, thinking of what might've happened to his friends. He voiced everyone's thought. "Wigglytuff, Chatot, something's wrong, isn't it? Loudred and Sunflora would never have their Team slack off or run them into _too_ much trouble. So what do you think happened?"

"Yeah," the others voiced.

Looking directly at his apprentices, he showed them his tired eyes and sighed before answering. "They probably took a path to Foggy Forest, but strayed too close to the Warzone."

"The Warzone?" Chimecho asked.

"Yes, the Warzone is a forested area a bit Northwest of here. The location is from Treeshroud Forest straight to the Mystery Jungle's edge. Every bit of land in between the starts of both those areas is full of constant fighting. The violence there has escalated in resent years, even deemed off-limits by the Exploration Federation. No one who doesn't want to become a prisoner of war tends to heed what the Federation says about that place."

"Hey hey!" Corphish started, "then who's fighting? Why haven't we heard of this before now?"

"And why?"

Chatot piped up and answered for Wigglytuff. "It originally was just the evolutionary families of Feraligatr and Sceptile, but due to how badly things got so quickly, now it's an all out war between the Grass and Water-Types. Only full-fledged Exploration Teams have notice of any of this, as they would likely be the only ones to freely enter and exit the Warzone, aside from the natives who are already fighting. As for why they're fighting... it is believed that one group stole an invaluable treasure from the other. It is currently unknown to us what the treasure was." Looking saddened, he continued, "due to Time freezing near Treeshroud Forest, however, the violence is quickly spreading into a wider area. More Pokemon are being thrown into a war they have no right being a part of."

"Then... Loudred's Team?"

"They could be anywhere in that scuffle. Or hopefully just late for the Expedition. We have no way of telling which it is. The Guildmaster and I will choose a specialized Rescue Party in order to negotiate and find the missing Team. Those not chosen will remain here on standby in order to find them, should they return here. Those chosen will come with us to the negotiations with the War Leaders: Edge and Clayre. Understood?"

"Wait." Stillbreeze began, "so we're cutting our Expedition time and putting ourselves into even _more _danger in order to save Loudred's group?" The young Chikorita's golden eyes had a determined gleam in them and her light green and gold body slightly tremored in excitement. "Sounds good to me!"

"Guildmaster, sir, it would be an honor to show these Pokemon that Grass and Water-Types can get along." Blitz spoke for his Team. Thorn and Crasher looked anxiously at each other, almost attempting to telepathically apologize to the other. Both also seemed to be praying to Arceus that they wouldn't have to go throw their lives away on this mission.

Wigglytuff's tired eyes picked up on everyone's expressions, some terrified, some angry, some determined. He would have to choose carefully, based on what he knew about each Pokemon as an individual. He mentally weighed different options, then came with: "I see a good number of you are scared. Right now, if you don't want to go, I won't force you. Walk to the other side there," He pointed to the area he wanted the frightend to move. "Those of you with anger, either dispell it or move to the side with the others." Many Pokemon moved to the side, leaving Team Sky and Team Triforce. He watched each of them individually, then decided: "Those coming with me and Chatot will be: Sevek, Stillbreeze, Ragarth, and Blitz. I believe I can trust them fully during the negotiations. Those I didn't choose, it isn't because I don't like you, you're my friends, it's just that I don't want to take chances, given your personalities. Please forgive me. You'll have your chances later."

"Hey hey!" Corphish interjected, "why can't I go instead of Sevek? I'm better trained than he is!"

Sevek was slightly hurt by Corphish's outburst. He looked at the ground, at his feet, then back at Wigglytuff. In an un-Sevek-like way, he asked Wigglytuff, "Why _did _you choose me for this? Corphish, Crasher... they both have _way_ more experience than I do. So why'd you choose me?"

"Because, I believe you're exactly what we need. You're unbiased attitude is exactly what I need for this. I know you can be trusted to act appropriately as well. You won't get us into any trouble either. You just want to help Loudred, not get revenge or stir up trouble, like the others might." Wigglytuff's words cheered Sevek up a little. He continued, "It's the same for Stillbreeze, Ragarth, and Blitz. I know they won't cause trouble in our grim time. Anyways, we need to keep everyone and everything we brought here safe, that's a big job. I need Pokemon I can trust on this too. Everyone's roles are important in their own ways."

Chatot picked up, "After short preparations, we'll leave to meet with Clayre and Edge. We'll attempt to reason with them for peace, yes, but we're also focusing on getting back Loudred's Team. Understood?" After recieving assurances from the chosen Pokemon, he and Wigglytuff began making plans for safe entry into the Warzone.

* * *

True to his word, Wigglytuff had led the group safely to and through the Warzone. They managed, somehow, to make it to the joint meeting between the two War Leaders and their Elites.

In the negotiation's tent, the walls were a thin, yet strong material painted a neutral color in the middle. Designs from civilizations passed were embroidered in the walls and even the ceiling. The tent only had one room, although it was divided into three sections, painted appropriately in each area. There were three seats in the middle of the tent, one for Edge, one for Clayre, and one for anyone dumb enough to talk sense into the two.

On the left side of the tent, the Grass-Type Council sat on tree stumps. Their walls were a forest green coloration and along their ground, small green plants were allowed to grow. They were arranged to sit in a semicircular manner, facing the opposing Water-Type Council. The first Pokemon they saw was a Venusaur with a bluish-purple flower on his back. Next to him, sat a petite Meganium, whose body was laced with a golden coloration-much like Stillbreeze's own-and a beautiful blue and white flower around her neck. Sitting near her was a Torterra with powerful legs and armor on his head and tail; the tree on his back was growing strong and healthy. Lastly, there was a serpent Pokemon with a green and white body. She wore a cloak of darker leaves tightly around her upper body(1) and her tail was constructed from many elegant leaves. She, above all the others on the Grass Council, caught Sevek's attention. He noted how hypnotic her violet eyes appeared and shivered.

On the side opposite the Grass Council, sat the Water-Type Council. Their walls were an ocean blue color and they didn't care for seats, as they simply sat on the moist ground. Sevek noted who was on that Council as well. First was a heavily armoured Blastoise. His shell seemed strong enough to protect him from practically any attack. Next was a Swampert, whose limbs appeared strong enough to smash boulders. She was a light pink in color. Beside her, an Empoleon sat. Her armor seemed sharp enough to hack through about anything. She was a light purple in color, aside from the light silver-blue of her armor. Lastly, Sevek noticed a quadripedal Pokemon with a spanned, horizontal tail, which was armoured with a thick shell. His dog-like face was covered with whiskers and topped with a helmet-like shell. The shaft(2) of this shell seemed battle-worthy. Lastly, on his dark blue body, his legs were also armoured with these shells. Even though he seemed old, the others treated him with an air of respect.

Both Councils' eyes were focused on the newcomers. They said nothing as Wigglytuff led everyone to the third seat. He sat down, waiting for Edge and Clayre, while the others sat down in a way, much like a third Council. Sevek, Stillbreeze, and Wigglytuff managed to get the most scrutiny from the Councils. Sevek saw the snake Pokemon looking inquisitively towards him, she seemed to be noticing his physical appearance, much like he had noted hers. The same could be said of Stillbreeze and the shell-dog Pokemon.

Finally, from the tent's opening, came a tall green and light blue Sceptile. His legs were powerful and the leaves on his wrists looked positively lethal. He was wearing a lightweight armor, increasing his endurance and allowing him more time to strike an opponent. His eyes were sharp, tracking every movement in the tent for any tell-tale sign of attack or betrayal. He made it to his seat and sat down, not looking at anything in particular, but still scanning the room. He waited for Clayre's arrival.

She didn't leave anyone waiting long, as she appeared at the opening shortly after. Clayre was a large Feraligatr with a similar color scheme to Sevek's. She had strong limbs and thick, sharp blue spikes on her tail, back, and neck. Her claws looked sharp enough to slice enemies in half easily. She wore heavier armor that would strongly make up for her lost speed with an incredible defense. She seemed angry, furious even, when she looked at Edge. She walked to her seat in the negotiations' area of the tent, opposite of Edge, however, her attention was entirely on Wigglytuff. "What do you want? Why are you here, Wigglytuff?"

Wigglytuff looked worriedly to his Team and then back to Clayre. He then answered, "we came here today for two reasons: one, being the peaceful resolution of this war," he was cut off by some of the Council members of both sides snickering, while the snake and shell-dog seemed very interested. He continued after Edge and Clayre shut them up, "and to find four of my apprentices, whom I assume one of your warriors captured while they were on their way elsewhere." He directed this point to both Clayre and Edge, and also to every Council member present.

"Give me the species and I can tell you if we have them or not." The Sceptile answered, almost bored. His voice was deep for a Sceptile, Chatot noted.

After Clayre echoed this thought, Wigglytuff told them, "the group that was captured consisted of: Loudred, Sunflora, Bidoof, and Croagunk. The Loudred was probably barking orders to the Team, while the others tried to ignore him."

"Ah, that lot's yours, Wigglytuff?" Clayre asked, thinking back to when her men captured them. "They crossed into the Warzone, so we caught them, thinking they were spies sent by Edge." She took the opportunity to glare at the Sceptile, who simply ignored her. Then, she continued to the shell-dog: "Blade, go fetch the intruders, will you?"

With a muttered "yes ma'am," the Pokemon, which Chatot murmured to the Third Council was a Samurott, left to find Loudred's group.

"Then what's the snake?" Sevek whispered, still somewhat enticed by her eyes.

"She's a Serperior." Chatot answered quietly, though he was thoroughly ignored by all at the time.

Noticed by Clayre for the first time, Sevek was called up to the table beside Wigglytuff, as were Ragarth, Stillbreeze, and Blitz. She took into account the similarities between herself and him, noticed his eyes' dark blue color, the strange lines of grey on his limbs... _The Thief's kid?_ She thought to herself. "Boy, state your parents' names, more than likely I would know them."

_Oh no..._ Ragarth thought.

_Here we go again..._ Stillbreeze sighed.

_Please, Arceus, give him a clever lie,_ Chatot begged.

"I honestly don't know, Ma'am. All I know is their species, if that would help any."

"State them, then I'll decide if the information is worthwhile or not."

"Okay. Well," He began, memories of a Crocodile and a Grovyle came to him, he finished, "my mother was a Crocodile with blue spikes, while my father was some odd colored Grovyle with blue eyes."

That struck a chord among all the Pokemon in the two Councils, including the War Leaders. A momentary chaos broke out among the Councils. Wigglytuff ended up being forced to bring calm to the Councils. "HEY! Quiet down!" When they heeded his words, he continued, "Yes, a Grass-Type and a Water-Type are my friend here's parents, so what?"

Clayre answered, "the Thief was a Grovyle like the young one said. The one he stole was a Crocodile, exactly like he said. The Thief's ilk! That's what he is!" She pointed towards Sevek, who backed off, afraid of what might happen to him.

Even Edge couldn't deny her accusations of Sevek. Stillbreeze, Chatot, Wigglytuff, and Ragarth stood protectively in front of Sevek. Wigglytuff asked, "wait a second, will you? You're fogetting that we know _nothing_ about what you're saying. Explain for us, please, before trying to kill my apprentice."

"Very well," Edge agreed, "About three years ago(3), a Grovyle went through their territory and supposedly 'stole' Clayre's daughter Cyrila. Cyrila was never heard from again, nor was the dark Grovyle. They fight us, believing that the Grovyle was one of us, when clearly he was not. We don't even know his name!" Edge pounded the table in anger. "They also blame this problem with Time freezing on us too. I'm afraid none of my men are _nearly_ stupid enough to mess with the Time Gear, Clayre."

The Councils looked ready to fight again, or kill Sevek, whatever seemed best to them, when the Samurott, Blade returned with Loudred's roughed up Team. They didn't move when they saw Wigglytuff, fearing he, too, had been captured.

He called out to them, "Come on guys, let's go before somebody dies." He meant 'before Sevek is killed', but they all took it at its base wording. He and Chatot guarded Sevek, who was flanked by Stillbreeze and Ragarth. Sevek looked ready to either throw up or cry. Blitz followed in amusment, although he kept it to himself, not wanting to end up the enemy.

"I can't force any of you to change your beliefs," Wigglytuff commented harshly, "but I can highly suggest you rethink things. Even _if_ Sevek is somehow related to your war, he's only loosely connected at best. He didn't choose things to be the way they are. Don't involve one of my brightest rookies in your war, as I doubt he would be one to choose sides. I don't want my friend and apprentice dying because of your war. Your war that has caused many innocent and strong Pokemon to turn savage, killing each other in no real reason besides just to kill. If anything, Sevek should be the one that leads you to believe your ways of thinking are wrong. A Grass-Type and a Water-Type worked together, they loved each other... don't confuse love with thievery... don't confuse love with hate... all you'll get in the end is pain. Farewell, Clayre, Edge." With that, Wigglytuff began leading everyone out of the tent.

Clayre's voice called to Sevek, stopping the group from moving any further. "Sevek, was it? Forgive me for my temper." She closed her eyes. "I've been warring for so long that I lost myself when I heard you were a hybrid Totodile. However, I _do _wonder... are you happy... working with Grass-Types?"

"Yeah, I am..." Sevek answered timidly. Finding support from his Teammates, he continued in a stronger voice, "What's wrong with Grass-Types anyways? Sure, they have a bit of an edge on us Water-Types in battle, but we can always just learn Ice-Type moves, ya know? They are usually pretty good Pokemon to partner up with. They see things in a different way than we do. That's good. So do Fire-Types. So does every Pokemon alive. My partners make me stronger. They keep me in check, just like they should. They keep me company and cheer me up when I'm feeling down. They're my friends."

"Sevek's honestly one of my closest friends," Stillbreeze commented, looking at the Councils in disgust. "If you try anything against him, I _will_ fight you."

"Sev's my trusted friend and Leader, he honestly is always there for me, and I want to be here for him." Ragarth answered. "You can only stand up against so much alone... but in a Team... you can stand up to so much more." He thought back to Persian, "It's true for everyone, even you Clayre, Edge. If you can cause so many problems alone, look how much you might be able to help everyone by working together. It's honestly a waste to let brave and noble Pokemon turn bitter and savage because of your quarrels. To let them die for no cause... Don't you think that's a waste?"

Edge walked slowly up to Ragarth, followed by Serperior, and said viciously, "Well, Cyndaquil, what right do you have among Water and Grass-Types?"

"Edge, calm yourself." Serperior said, trying to calm the Sceptile down. "He has every right to speak. He is not biased like us. His perspective is clear and innocent. I fought for you because I wanted to protect you. I still will... but maybe there's a better way..."

"Yes," Blade echoed, "fighting to the death is pointless. It only breeds hatred and oppression. Involving young Sevek like that was cruel, to say the least. It's time this war ends. If we're willing to kill younglings, then what are we really?"

Seeing the verbal fight was turning against him, Edge gave in and instead said, "fine, I'll stop our violence as long as they do not attack us." He motioned towards the Water-Types.

"We will not attack," Clayre answered. She seemed to have taken Team Sky's words to heart, unlike Edge. "Let us end this senseless fighting. The damage is done... a hundred times over what it was originally. Perhaps we can find them still."

"Very well." Edge simply replied.

* * *

Finally, the Team was able to return to Foggy Forest. When they returned, everyone was waiting on them. They took a few days for Loudred's Team to recover and for Sevek to shake off his shock. During that time, the others were told of what happened at the Warzone.

"Now that everyone is safe and sound," Chatot began, "we will officially return to our Expedition!"

"Hooray!" Everyone cheered.

_'Bout time,_ Blitz thought, still feeling gipped that Sevek didn't get hurt.

"Um, Chatot sir?" Chimecho asked, "If I may, there's a legend I heard about Fogbound Lake."

"Of course, please share."

"Well, it's believed that anyone who goes to Fogbound Lake will meet a Pokemon named Uxie. Uxie is said to lock eyes with whoever enters his home and wipe their memories clean. That's why it's believed that no one has been able to find the treasure at Fogbound Lake."

"Uh-oh! What if MY MEMORY is erased?" Lourdred whined.

"I doubt that'll be a problem, Loudred, since you're so forgetful already that you make me go eek!" Sunflora teased.

Chatot interrupted, "just remember that a place like this is bound to have rumors of that kind. It is not likely true in the least."

"Yep!" The rejuvinated, carefree Wiggytuff exclaimed, "odds are, nothing will happen. Also Loudred, Sunflora, Bidoof, Croagunk... I'm sorry I forgot to warn you about the Warzone when you picked that path to our camp."

"It's okay GUILDMASTER! We weren't roughed UP too BAD!" Loudred assured with his ridiculously loud voice. The others in his group seemed to feel the same way.

"Really, Guildmaster, there _were_ signs that we _should_ have followed," Croagunk voiced.

"Yup yup. But Loudred said we'd be fine, by golly!" Bidoof seconded.(4)

"Er...uh...SORRY guys!" Loudred apologized.

"Okay everyone. Let's get out there and find Fogbound Lake!"

"Hooray!" With that, everyone went off on their own, or with a small group. Diglett and Dugtrio burrowed off to see if Fogbound Lake might actually be underground instead of through the forest. Team Triforce went on ahead, searching for their Sky, however, walked to the entry of the forest and saw that there were again, two paths, the Forest Path and the ever increasingly fogg, Foggy Forest.

"Which way?" Serenity asked, curiously looking and listening around both paths. She was slightly more careful and energetic than she had been earlier.

"We'll probably go through Foggy Forest," Ragarth said, "Remember what Wigglytuff and Chatot said, the foggier, the closer to Fogbound Lake we likely are."

"Good idea, Ragarth." The sense of nostalgia hit him again. Memories flashed in his eyes of the dark, rocky forest and its ominous fog. _He remembered others: a Lucario, always holding a bone as a weapon. A Staravia, golden-brown and always near Lucario or Grovyle it seemed. There was the dark Grovyle that he'd earlier identified as his 'father', with eyes full of false happiness, looking more full of worry and anger. He was looking at three infant Pokemon: one, a tiny Chikorita maybe? It had a slight goldish glow about it. Sleeping near it, was a small green bundle of fuzz with red spots on its back, possibly a Cyndaquil. Lastly, was a small Totodile with dark blue spikes and grey lines on its limbs. Sevek probably. The Grovyle was only trying to keep the infants content with his false emotions. To the adults, Sevek heard Grovyle say, "We've waited too long. We need to get them out of here."_

_"But what if you never see them again?" Staravia asked._

_"The better off they'll be. They've already lost their mothers... I don't want them to lose their lives because I couldn't say goodbye."_

_"Sorry, Sev's too young. Time Travelling would cause problems." A tiny pink fairy said._

_"Fine. Then when we're ready for our mission... I'll take him back with me. Until then... you know what to do, guys." Grovyle finished._

_Sevek's vision faded..._

The others were looking at him oddly. Serenity was calling his name, trying to get his attention. Ragarth was trying to break through to him. What broke his trance, however, was when he felt the old familiar whack to the head. "Ow!"

"_Focus_ Sevek!" Stillbreeze snapped.

"Okay, okay, sorry. What'd I miss?"

"Not much. But I _did_ find this cool stone." Ragarth answered, showing Sevek his newly found stone. It was fairly small, yet a beautiful ruby red with what seemed to be steam at its very tip. It looked like an expanding spike. Ragarth was right, the stone was pretty cool. "What else is neat is that even though it's cool out, the stone is really warm, like it makes its own heat or something."

"Let me see." Sevek took the stone from Ragarth. _It's true. It's warm... kinda like cool lava or something._ He gave the stone back to Ragarth. "Hold onto this, we don't know if we'll ever need this or not."

"Gotcha."

"Well," Serenity said, wanting to get a move on already, "let's go!"

"Okay, okay." Sevek smiled, "Let's go then."

The four Pokemon started to walk through the Foggy Forest. They soon found that Wigglytuff and Chatot were absolutely correct, the further they progressed, the foggier it got. The fog was cool, a relief since there was no wind. The only indication of a sun in the white-grey fog was a small patch of brighter light above them. Small ponds were all over the place, and once, Sevek even fell into one by accident. The others helped him out, then laughed at him.

A few Pokemon were passed along the way, but they were only faint colors in the distance, almost completely invisible to the Team. And they, likewise, were nearly invisible to the native Pokemon. They were discovered only a few times by the native angry Pokemon, but it wasn't much of a problem, as they were able to beat their attackers easily.

After travelling for a few hours, the Team ended up in a Foggy Clearing(5). Trees were sparse, while pools of water were obvious, despite the thick fog. A large grey thing was located further back in the clearing, with an orange blob in front of it.

The blob called out to them, "hey hey! Guys! It's me, Corphish! Which Team are you? I can't really tell!"

Ragarth answered Corphish's call, "it's Team Sky! Good to see you Corphish!" The Pokemon all gathered in front of the grey thing, a statue of some kind of giant Pokemon.

"So then," Stillbreeze started, "have you been able to find out anything?"

"Not really, hey hey. It's way too foggy. But I _do_ think this statue's important somehow." Corphish pointed to the statue. "There's a strange plaque here." He pointed.

"I'll check it out," Stillbreeze offered, walking to the indicated plaque. _It's written in Footprint Runes. It seems to be like a riddle too..._ "The plaque says: 'Reignite the life that burned in Groudon... Then the sky shall blaze with the sun's heat... The path to treasure shall be revealed.'"

"I have no idea what that's supposed to mean."

"I think," Ragarth mused, "that it means we have to do something to a 'Groudon', this statue maybe? Then the fog might lift... or the path to the treasure will just be made obvious or something like that."

Sevek walked up to the statue and ran his clawed hands over it, seemingly looking for something. When he searched near the statue's chest, he found a hollowed-out spot where stone should have been. "Hey, there's an opening in the statue's chest. Maybe it has something to do with the riddle?"

"Mayb-ugh..." Stillbreeze sat down, she seemed dizzy, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. Sevek and the others came by to see if she was okay. A vision came to her.

_The land in the clearing was silent, deathly silent. The fog turned from its natural white-grey to an almost malevolent grey-black. The air itself seemed to bring a chill, and there was no movement whatsoever. The sun was missing and not even the leaves or droplets of water moved. The statue of the assumed Groudon was in place, eroded by time and clawed by some unknown creature._

_The dark lizard-like Pokemon, which she assumed to be a Grovyle, walked foreward, towards the statue. A dark bird Pokemon, likely a Staravia, followed the Grovyle at a respectful distance. On the Staravia, was a small blue bundle, a sleeping infant. It was a light blue color and had the blue spikes and crazy grey lines on it too. It looked a lot like Sevek._

_The two adults stood near the plaque, Staravia waiting and searching nearby, expectantly, as if waiting for something. "Hurry up, we don't know if they followed us or not."_

_Grovyle began to read the Runes, it had the same words that Stillbreeze herself had just read. She noticed his voice was a low tenor and filled with intelligence and depression, or was it desparation?_

_"What do you think this means?" Asked the Staravia's slightly lower voice._

_"Perhaps something needs to fill the hole in the statue's heart."_

_"Stop joking about your love-life already!"_

_"I'm not... see the statue's chest? See how there's a hole there? Something probably needed to be placed there in the past. I'll see what exactly..."_

_"Okay. I'll keep watch." Staravia flew off. He circled unnoticeably in the sky, ensuring that nothing would attack._

_Grovyle closed his eyes and murmured something like: 'Place the Drought Stone in Groudon's heart, that'll remove the fog...' He opened his eyes and signalled Staravia down. "Come on, let's report to the guys and the Night Guild(6)."_

_The Pokemon quickly fled the area, and the vision ended._

She opened her eyes, seeing her friends around her with concerned looks on their faces. "Vision." She answered. Serenity and Corphish looked totally confused by this, while Sevek explained.

"Stillbreeze sometimes has visions that tell either the past or future. We're not entirely sure which. Hahaha!"

"Cool."

"Hey hey!"

"Ragarth, you said that stone you found was warm and steamy. Can I see it?"

"Yeah, just a sec..." He found the stone and handed it to Stillbreeze. She grabbed the stone with a vine, assured by its warmth that it was probably the Drought Stone. "Sevek, can you fit this into the hole in the statue?" She offered him the Drought Stone, which he took and went off to see the statue with.

He looked for the hole again. Finding it, he attempted t ofit the stone in it. Much to his surprise, the stone fit perfectly, causing the statue's eyes to glow red. Sevek ran back to the others and was blinded by the brightness of the following light. "Gah!"

He opened his eyes slowly, taking in the utter difference in the environment. The fog was gone, like a ghost that had suddenly departed. The grass was richly green, yet somehow still cut short. A large plateau was held up by a spiral of stones, whose origin was a steam-hidden cave. Water fell from the plateau, causing waterfall-like falls of water to form the ponds. Teh statue of Groudon looked fierce and monstrous, even slightly scary. The Drought Stone gleamed beautifully in the harsh sunlight.

"Wow! Glad we'll never have to fight something like that!" Ragarth exclaimed, meaning the Groudon Statue.(7)

"Uh-huh!" Corphish echoed. "Hey hey! I'll go report this to the Guildmaster. You guys keep exploring!" He scuttled quickly, going back through the not-so-Foggy Forest.

"Yeah. Let's keep pushin' on guys!" Sevek was full of enthusiasm. Before any of the group could move more than two steps, however, they were stopped by Team Triforce.

"Not these jerks again!" Serenity exclaimed.

"Sorry kiddies, treasure's all ours!" Crasher asserted. "'les you think you can take us on!"

"Let's finish things, Sevek!" Blitz growled, readying a Thunderpunch.

"Move!" Sevek called as he dodged the punch. He countered with a Water Gun, dealing significant damage to the Magmar.

By now, all Team members of both Teams were involved in the scuffle. Blitz punched the ground with a Thunderpunch, sending the electricity through the ground and zapping Sevek slightly. Sevek retaliated with a Blast Seed, blocking every attack thrown at him with the fiery blast.

The fight was interrupted when a Perfect Apple rolled onto the field. Wigglytuff followed, hot on its trail. Both Teams dropped what they were doing, including Sevek releasing Crasher's wing from a Bite attack, and gave Wigglytuff a strange look.

"Hey guys!" Wigglytuff exclaimed happily, looking at everyone and picking up his precious Perfect Apple. "How is everyone?"

"Uh... not bad." Sevek replied.

"Good! Now, Team Sky, please explore the Steam Cave over there. It probably leads to Fogbound Lake. Report with any information you get from there, okay?"

"Alright! Seeya Wigglytuff!" Team Sky walked away, towards the newly dubbed Steam Cave.

_Grr... dammit Wigglytuff! If you hadn't gotten in the way! I could've finished off Sevek's Team and taken the treasure! But... there's still time..._ Blitz nodded to his Teammates, who understood his gesture: take down Wigglytuff.

"What's the matter friends? What's with the serious faces? Ah! I know! It's a face-off!"

_He knows!_

"Well, then, !" Wigglytuff giggled, messing with his face and making funny faces at Team Triforce, all of whom felt very creeped out, yet relieved.

Wigglytuff stopped and he and Blitz had a stare-off, where Wigglytuff understood what was happening. He fully understood this Team known as Triforce. _No wonder Team Sky is nervous and resentful towards them._

* * *

_**There you go. Remember to Review.**_

_**1) If you can call it that...**_

_**2) Don't laugh, I'm not a thesaurous, and I don't feel like looking up a different word**_

_**3) Pokeage, not human age, remember, they don't live as long as us. Like pet-age, ya know?**_

_**4) So loyal, aren't they?**_

_**5) Ironic isn't it?**_

_**6) Shout-out to Luna's Eclipse!**_

_**7) Hahahaaha!**_

_**Sevek: Level 17**_

_**Stillbreeze: Level 17**_

_**Ragarth: Level 17**_

_**Serenity: Level 15**_

_**Silver Rank!**_


	9. Fogbound Lake

**_Well, here I am for the uploadapalooza I promised for the end of my school year! Enjoy!_**

* * *

Wigglytuff truly couldn't have come up with a simpler, yet more appropriate name for the dungeon. It was a giant cave that was surrounded and full of nothing but thick steam. Steam Cave.

The cave was made from deep red stones, moist from the hot steam around them. The ground near the Team was the same managed green grass as before, at the Clearing. There was only a light wind here, not taking much of the edge from the sun's heat.

All in all, they knew it would be unbearably hot inside. Near the entrance of the cave was a Kangaskhan Rock... that meant they really _weren't _the first Team to ever enter, didn't it? Did that mean the legend Chimecho told... was true? Did Uxie really live here? Did he take away the others' memories? That unspoken fear penetrated the Team... slightly paralyzing them.

This fear wasn't lost on Sevek, who noticed this fear in its entirety. He had to swallow his own fear in order to lead and he knew it. "Guys..." looking to each of the Pokemon in his Team slowly, he swallowed the lump in his throat and continued, "I know you're all scared... I'm scared... of Uxie... but... but! I'm _still_ going through this cave! I'm _still_ going to Fogbound Lake! If Uxie tries to pull anything, I'll give him a fight he won't soon forget! Don't give up when we're _so _close! We'll never get anything done if we let our fear stop us from trying!"

Shaking herself out of her fear-based stuper, Stillbreeze regained her usual boldness, "Right. I doubt Uxie can get all of us anyways! I'm with you, Sevek!"

"That, and the fact that you have to lock eyes with him for that to happen. Based off the legend Chimecho told us anyways." Ragarth pointed this out, giving the Teammates a bit more bravery for the possible confrontation. "If we don't look him in the eye, he can't wipe our memories!"

"Then I'm with you too, Sevy!" Serenity announced, her former fear invisible to her friends.

"Good. Then let's stock up on useful items first."

"Hey Sev, what about our X-Eye Seed?"

"That could buy us some time if Uxie attacks. Good thinking Rag!" The green furred Cyndaquil glowed at his Leader's praise. His dark blue eyes had a spark in them that could only be seen as pride.

"The only problem is..." Stillbreeze said, "we only have _one_ seed. If it takes more than that..." she cut off, not wanting to say what everyone knew would come.

"Then I won't miss," Sevek was probably as serious as he ever could be in his life.

Team Sky got their equipment, including their item of salvation, from the Kangaskhan Rock, silently praying to Arceus they wouldn't meet the same fate as those before them. They moved on into Steam Cave.

Steam Cave's interior was based on an upward slope, which made sense, as it had to lead them up to the plateau. The slope was small, however, and they knew it would be a while before they made it to the top.

Water found in the cave had settled in its place a long time ago, unaffected by the slope or by gravity, it seemed. The steam that came off the water was thick and hot, making it harder to get the oxygen that the Pokemon needed. Steam Cave's stone walls were seen only through pillars of steam, and were believed to be red. The ground under them seemed to be a mixture of red and brown stones.

The native Pokemon here were mostly Fire-Type Pokemon. There _were_ a few others, like Yanma, Shuckle, or Snubble, but they were few and far between. These Pokemon, that could be seen as either Primals or Wilds, were stronger than those in Foggy Forest. They required a little more teamwork to defeat, but were still fairly easy to beat.

Before too long, Team Sky had made it through Steam Cave into... another cave? The cave-within-a-cave was nothing but a zone with nothing in it. Nothing but stones and steam. They walked further into the zone, noticing another opening along the circular walls of the zone. Perhaps that led further up the plateau... to Fogbound Lake? The Team noticed this and decided to rest near the center of the zone.

"What _is _this place?" Serenity asked. Noticing her voice echoed, she playfully called out, hearing her own voice echo back at her. She smiled in delight.

"I think," Ragarth searched through what Chatot had taught him about dungeons, looking for the right memory. Finding it, he finished, "Chatot said places like these are called Midpoint. They're usually pretty calm. He said they're good places for Teams to rest before continuing through a dungeon."

Sevek nodded, about to reply to this, when he stopped, hearing something in the distance. It sounded like a faint roaring. "Uh... guys? Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" Serenity asked, growing bored of the Midpoint's calmness. She yawned.

"Nevermind. It was probably just my imagination."

"Whatever you say."

* * *

"Sorry Wigglytuff, but you're going down. The treasure of Fogbound Lake will be ours! And in order to get there," Blitz grinned, his Team preparing for battle, "you need to be eliminated!"

The Perfect Apple Wigglytuff held onto was placed carefully on the ground near a pool of water. He was silent, waiting for the Magmar to attack.

Needless to say, Wigglytuff didn't wait long. Blitz, impaitient and angry, charged at him with a Thunderpunch. Crasher combined his Bubblebeam with this as Thorn used Solarbeam to make the Thunderpunch all the stronger. The Thunderpunch turned a blue-white color, showing just how powerful the attack could be. The Magmar continued his charge; Wigglytuff avoided this by sucking in a large amount of air and floating.

The elemental fist hit the ground where Wigglytuff had been, causing a massive explosion and scarring the ground. Blitz took heavy recoil damage from this attack; the electrical charge was shocking him, making him pant in anger and pain.

Crasher and Thorn didn't miss a beat. They attacked with Bubblebeam and Solarbeam, trying to give Blitz cover and trying to even the fight a little. These attacks missed Wigglytuff as well, as he exhaled and dropped to the ground.

"Stop playing with us, Wigglytuff!" Fight me like a Primal! Show me your power!" Blitz shouted to the heavens.

Wigglytuff closed his eyes and jumped into the air, rolling into a ball shape and then back down to earth in a Rollout attack. This attack hit Crasher and Thorn multiple times, while Blitz managed to avoid each one. The two bullies were knocked into the Groudon Statue and were instantly knocked out. Wigglytuff got back to his feet after this, "Blitz, do you really want it to go this way? You won't win, you know. Just leave me and my Apprentices alone."

"Never! Not until I'm finally rid of those pests from Team Sky and have Fogbound Lake's treasure!" Fiery spittle came from Blitz's mouth as he screamed in fury.

Thorn and Crasher, waking up to this, looked at each other in fear. Was Blitz going Primal? Could they still trust their Leader? Thorn got up, followed by Crasher, and stalked off into the forest, where only the Primals could possibly be a threat.

"I'm sorry Blitz; this is over. Even your Team has left you."

"What do you mean!" He chanced a glance at where his Teammates should have been, only to find nothing there. They had abandoned him. "I don't need them! I _never_ needed those two weaklings!" He attacked with a superheated Flamethrower.

"Let's end this," Wigglytuff murmured, mostly to himself. He let out a Hyper Voice, dissolving Blitz's Flamethrower and sending the maddened Magmar into the Groudon Statue. His claws left a scar in the statue. He had lost. The battle, his Team, his sanity. All gone.

Wigglytuff moved the Magmar behind the Groudon Statue with a few Oran Berries laid next to him. He didn't really want to hurt Blitz, he just wanted to show him how pointless it was to fight then. He knew Blitz would wake up soon though. He didn't really use much power in the Hyper Voice.

_Maybe he'll learn from this... I hope so... And I hope Crasher and Thorn think through this as well._ Picking up his Perfect Apple, Wigglytuff munched a little, then thought, _I should probably make sure Sevek's Team is okay._

* * *

"Well," Sevek asked after the Team had rested a little while at the Midpoint of Steam Cave, "are we ready to head off?"

"Yep!"

"Of course."

"Whenever you're ready Sev."

The Team was up near the entrance to Steam Cave's continuation, when a roaring noise was heard, loud and clear. _GRROOHGAHRA!_

"Uh! Woah!"

"Is _that_ what you heard earlier Sevek?" Stillbreeze snapped, glaring daggers at the Totodile.

"Uh-huh."

"Wonderful."

"Wait! What do we really know about Uxie?" Ragarth asked.

"Not much. Only that he can take your memories away by locking eyes with you."

"So... what if..."

"That's... Uxie growling?" Serenity finished, fear consuming her and the others again. Her fur stood on end after another roar.

_They have a good point. This _is_ where Uixe's supposed to live after all... _Crap! Sevek thought. "Then we'll just try even harder to win or convince him we're not here to cause trouble!" _Ha! Yeah right! We are so dead!_

They nodded at him, still not very convinced that the plan would work, but at least they had some kind of plan to fall back on right? The roar echoed throughout the cave again, still scary, but they managed to force that fear aside, moving on to the next part of Steam Cave. Sevek paused just before entering the cave. Memories coming to him again.

* * *

_The dark Grovyle was walking through a dark, foggy cave with what he assumed was his infant self, a Lucario, a grey and violet Floatzel, and the golden-brown Staravia. The cave felt very cold to him. Dead, yet familiar. Silence-the only noise in the cave. The water in the cave was dark, frozen, uninviting. Every adult seemed stressed out, angry even, while Sevek himself felt kind of happy._

_ They passed statues of Pokemon, cold and lifeless(1) in the cave's darkness. A few Ghost-Types watched them in curiosity, but they didn't bother acting on any impulses._

_ Eventually, they made it to the end of the cave, a platform with a lake in the middle. Everything in this area, also, seemed frozen, lifeless, and dark._

_ Walking to the lake, his younger self noticed something in the lake, shattered to pieces and eroded by Time._

_ "What is 'at?" He pointed to the strange object._

_ "The remains of a Time Gear, I assume." Grovyle said, sounding very tired, and possibly sad as well._

_ "W'as a Tim' Gear?"_

_ "It keeps Time stable."_

_ "But... it's broke."_

_ "Yes."_

_ "So Tim's broke?"_

_ "Something like that." Floatzel chuckled, gaining a glare from Grovyle._

_ "So, let's get Jade ta fix it. Then Tim' won't be broked."_

_ "If only that would work." Grovyle said wistfully._

_ "Why wonnit?"_

_ "'Cause when Time breaks Sev, you can't really fix it." Floatzel explained, losing most of his happiness at the thought._

_ "That's why we're stopping Time from getting broken in the past, Sevek. We need to keep Time and Space from turning to Darkness."_

_ "I see." His younger self nodded, pretending to understand._

_ "Inferno's guys are coming!" Staravia announced._

_ "Take Sevek and _go_, then!"_

* * *

He was jolted back to reality by another whack to the head. "Ow!"

"_Focus_, Sevek!"

"Okay, sorry. Let's go."

The Team continued through the dungeon. The Pokemon on this side of Steam Cave were much stronger than those on the otherside. Some were even evolved. They required a lot more attention and teamwork to defeat than the others.

The scenery was about the same as before, but with less water and less steam. At this point, it didn't take very long to reach the peak of Steam Cave.

The peak was drastically different in scenery. Red and brown stones turned into a tan-gray stone, surrounding them from the ground and curved walls around them. The open sky was a wonderful sight, despite the sun's harsh glow. A gentle wind was felt, cooling off the tired and sweaty Pokemon, despite the sun.

They were alone, weren't they? There was no sign of Uxie anywhere. Maybe further along, past the final passage just beyond them? There _was_ something shiny coming from that direction, after all. Probably the lake.

"Ha!" Serenity laughed, "looks like it _was_ just a legend! Uxie's not here! Heeheehee!"

"GAROORAH!" The roar came, extremely close to them. They looked up, seeing a giant gray Pokemon with a red back that had black lines etched in it. The thing's claws were _huge!_ And its teeth were massive and sharp. It looked like a colored version of the Groudon Statue... so did this mean... Uxie wasn't here, but in his place was a _Groudon?_

"Oh crap!"

"Where? How? Why didn't we _notice_ something this _big_ before!" Ragarth shouted, trying to come up with some rational idea, despite a sudden whirlwind of fear coming over him.

"GROOHARAH!" The beast they all knew as Groudon roared, shaking the very earth with his roar.

"Wah!" Serenity hid behind Sevek; Ragarth backed off a couple of steps; Stillbreeze and Sevek were frozen in fear.

"WHY ARE YOU HERE?" Groudon boomed.

"T-t-to s-s-see F-Fogbound Lake!" Sevek stammered.

Groudon's yellow eyes showed anger at Sevek's words; the sunlight seemed harsher, more unbearable now that Groudon was angry. "I AM THE GUARDIAN OF FOGBOUND LAKE! I AM GROUDON!"

Serenity laid down, fur bristling in fear, her paws placed over her head. Ragarth was trying and failing to find comfort in his Special Band. Stillbreeze was shaking; Sevek looked ready to either pass out or run far, far away.

"W-w-we aren't here to c-cause t-trouble! I swear!"

"MANY HAVE COME WITH THE SAME STORY... BUT THEY WERE TRAITORS AND THIEVES... THEY ALL HAD TO BE PUNISHED!" Groudon closed what little space was left between him and the Team. "THOSE WHO TRESSPASS ON MY TERRITORY SHALL BE PUNISHED! GROOHARA!"

* * *

The Guild members and Chatot all had gathered at the Groudon Statue. Corphish had told them that Team Sky had discovered the path to Fogbound Lake and everyone came running. As soon as they came, they noticed a scar in the land before them, like some kind of powerful battle had taken place there. Corphish noticed the clawmarks in the Groudon Statue and shivered. What happened during his absence?

"Corphish, was all this here before?" Chimecho asked.

"Hey hey, no! I don't know what happened! This place looked really good. Untouched even. And hey hey, now there's all this damage. I hope the Guildmaster and Team Sky are okay, hey hey."

"Come along then, we'll see if they've already passed here, with any luck of course." Chatot said, leading the Apprentices to Steam Cave. Diglett and Dugtrio stopped for a little while, hearing something like a groan. They quickly scanned the area and caught up with Chatot's group.

As they made it to the entrance of the cave, they heard a massive roar. _No, Dear Arceus don't have Team Sky up there._ Chatot thought, suddenly filled with fear for his Guildmates. He led everyone in a run through the dungeon.

"Hey... uh Chatot?"

"Yes Bidoof?"

"I was wondering... Corphish said that statue was a Groudon, right?"

"Yes. What about it?"

"Could you tell us anything about it?"

"Of course I can. I'm like an encyclopedia, after all. Groudon is a Legendary Pokemon, said to have created continents."

"Eek! I would _not_ want to fight something like that!" Sunflora echoed.

"What if someone _were _to fight a Groudon, though?" Diglett asked, not planning on even risking a fight with the Legendary.

"Out of the question! Fighting Groudon would be like throwing your life away! He's _that_ powerful! Just like _all_ Legendary Pokemon."

Another massive roar echoed throughout Steam Cave. The sick feeling Chatot had eariler was back... more than likely, Arceus or no, Team Sky was up there. With Groudon. They all knew this and bolted through the dungeon, hoping and praying they would be there in time.

* * *

"PREPARE TO FACE MY WRATH!"

"Move!" Sevek screamed, tackling Stillbreeze out of the way, allowing her to dodge the monster's claws. Sevek, unfortunately, was unable to move fast enough to dodge Groudon's Slash attack fully, getting slashed on the right leg. It was bleeding pretty badly from the strike, causing Sevek to collapse on the ground. Groudon towered overhead, ready to kill him.

Just when Sevek thought he was done for, closing his eyes to avoid watching his own death, Stillbreeze snapped out of her trance and saved him with one of her vines. He opened his eyes, expecting to see heaven, but instead saw Stillbreeze. He was alive!

"Th-thanks!"

"No problem. Can you move on your own?"

Testing his leg, he found it somehow still worked and nodded.

"Good. I think we have no choice but to fight this thing."

"I was afraid you were going to say that."

Groudon attacked with an intense Fire Blast; Sevek attempted to fight this fire with Water Gun. the fire evaporated most of the Water Gun, but somehow was put out by the water. Stillbreeze counterattacked while Sevek tried to catch his Razor Leaf aimed at Groudon's head, seeming to do very little damage to the monster, until one of the leaves hit his eye, causing him to roar in pain.

Ragarth finally snapped out of his terror and used Ember, again causing very little damage to the beast. In fact, it only encouraged Groudon to attack him this time. He opened his mouth and a powerful stream of mud came from it: Mud Shot. Ragarth used Quick Attack to save Serenity and himself from the attack in barely enough time. The mud actually created a small indent in the ground.

"Y-you saved me?" Serenity asked, looking at Ragarth with newfound respect.(2)

"Yeah." He replied with an embarrassed smile. "Come on, we need to help Sev and Stillbreeze!" The duo joined in the fight.

Sevek and Serenity got into a defensive pattern, while Ragarth and Stillbreeze took the offensive pattern. Surprisingly, this plan was effective, although tiring to both sides of the fight. When Ragarth tried to use Ember, he found that instead of the small embers that normally came from him, that a jet of flame came, causing actual damage to Groudon: Flamethrower. He could use _Flamethrower!_

When Groudon's tail was within an easy distance, Sevek hobbled onto it, much to his Teammates' surprise. An unspoken plan was given, and they knew they couldn't let Groudon know where Sevek was, otherwise his plan might fail. Slowly and painfully Sevek climbed with his injured leg. Slowly and painfully, he made it to the top of Groudon's head. He saw the monster's eye, bleeding from the leaf Stillbreeze sent at it, but honestly didn't feel any sympathy for it.

Finally, taking every Blast Seed he could from the Treasure Bag, Sevek waited for Groudon to open hs mouth. When he did, Sevek hurled the Blast Seeds with as much force as possible, every seed making its mark. There was a massive explosion inside the beast as the Blast Seeds exploded. Groudon instantly collapsed, and Sevek was thrown from its head, unable to save himself from the hard, stone ground. An audible _crack_ was heard coming from his right leg as he hit the ground.

"SEVEK!" They all cried as they avoided the falling Groudon and raced to their friend. They, themselves were bloody messes, but ignored their injuries, for their Leader... for their friend.

The Totodile in question was cut badly on his right leg now, and even even might have broken that leg. The rest of him seemed minorly roughed up; he was a mess.

Small fiery explosions appeared all over the peak of Steam Cave, making them wonder if they would _ever_ make it out of this place alive. Finally, mercifully, the fires vanished. Groudon seemed to have dissappeared as well.

"So then... that wasn't Groudon?" Serenity asked as Stillbreeze used Synthesis on Sevek, taking advantage of the high amount of sunlight to help her friend.

"I don't think it was... whatever it was... it's gone now." Ragarth answered. "Stillbreeze, need anything from the bag?"

"Oran Berries. Maybe a Reviver Seed too, if he's got less endurance than I think he does."

"Got it." he searched quickly for the items, giving them to Stillbreeze when he found them all.

She cut up the Oran Berries and forced them into Sevek's mouth. Even the juice from the Berries had a noticable effect, but didn't seem to wake up Sevek. When the Reviver Seed was placed in his mouth, they noticed a _huge_ increase in the Totodile's stamina. He woke up in a daze. He seemed okay, minus the fact that his right leg was still broken. "Owww..."

Stillbreeze whacked the back of his head, "_that's _for scaring me to _death!_"

"Sorry... ah... my head..."

"Your _head?_" Ragarth asked, looking at his Leader's _leg._

"Yeah.. Why're you asking?"

"Take a look at your _leg_."

Sevek did and instantly felt sick. "Wh-what happened to my leg!"

"You fell from that monster's head after you chucked those Blast Seeds in its mouth."

Looking around and noticing they were alone again, Sevek asked, "Where's... Groudon?"

"It vanished."

"How-OW!"

"It was an illusion." A small male voice answered. "Also, if you want, I can heal your injuries before sending you off."

"Who are you?" Stillbreeze asked the void.

"I am Uxie." A small flash of light blinded them, and a little gray fairy appeared. It had two tails and a yellow head with yellow eyes and levitated a small distance from the ground.

"_You're _Uxie?" Ragarth inquired, looking skeptical. He didn't really have any idea what Uxie was supposed to look like, but he slightly expected more than this tiny thing.

"Yes. Would you like me to heal your injuries before I send you off?"

"Sure... what?"

"Okay, hold still please." Uxie floated over to Sevek, then used his psychic abilities to fix his broken leg. Then he went over to Stillbreeze, Ragarth, and Serenity, healing their injuries as well.

"Now, before I send you off, I'm afraid I must take your memories too."

"Wait a second! We never came to cause trouble Uxie! Believe us! We only came for information, that's all!" Sevek honestly had had enough threats today for his liking. He didn't really want to lose his memories either, not when they were cropping up like they were.

"Well, and the hope for treasure," Ragarth added, "But we'll be happy to leave without that if we have to."

"Come then," Uxie concented, beconning the Pokemon to follow him beyond the peak, towards the opening leading to Fogbound Lake. They followed quickly, not wanting to get lost.

When they made it to the lake, Stillbreeze asked, "Why the Illusion Groudon?"

"I use my psychic abilities to conjure up a physical illusion. This Illusion Groudon is used to chase off most tresspassers. Those strong enough to get past it still have to go through me later. I haven't really met others like you, Team Sky. Every Pokemon that made it past my illusion only had ill intents for this place. I couldn't allow that to happen, so I started taking away their memories."

"Ah, so then Uxie, you trust us?"

"Yes, I believe I can trust you. Now, take a look at Fogbound Lake." The fairy gestured to the lake's enormity. It was dark by now, lit only by the sunset. Still, however, greens and reds and blues all surrounded the lake. Illumise and Volbeat also did their part to light the lake. When the lake's middle started to spout, the water caught some of the sun's fading light, making it all the more beautiful.

"Wow!" Serenity's eyes gleamed in wonder, watching the water change colors.

"Yes, the geyser spouts every now and then, making this beautiful scenery."

"I get it," Stillbreeze said, "the real treasure of Fogbound Lake... it _must_ be the beautiful lake itself!"

The memories of this place, locked in eternal darkness came back to Sevek, making him shiver. "H-hey Uxie?"

"Yes?"

"Wh-was this place ever dark or frozen, like Time had stopped?"

"No. This place has never been like that, Sevek. However, if what I guard, the Time Gear in the center of the lake, were stolen or destroyed" Uxie's words caused Sevek to remember the broken Time Gear from his memories, "something to that extent might happen. That's why I'm here, to protect the Time Gear. Why do you ask, Sevek?"

"N-no reason. Sorry. But the Time Gear... it's pretty. Uxie if you want, we'll help guard it from danger too."

"Thank you for the offer Sevek, but I am just fine alone." Uxie declined kindly.

"Good work you guys!" Wigglytuff's voice called; he himself appeared shortly after.

"Who is this?" Uxie asked, starting to wonder how many Pokemon really were climbing through Steam Cave.

"Our Guildmaster. You can trust him."

The other Guildmembers appeared shortly after, shocked by the wonderous view and the sight of Uxie. They noticed the gray and yellow fairy seemed to have a growing anxiety.

"Uxie," Wigglytuff negotiated, "If you would, please allow us to keep our memories of this place. I swear, by the good name of Wigglytuff's Guild, that we won't tell anyone about what we've seen here."

Sighing, Uxie concented again. The group was allowed to watch the night come over Fogbound Lake, then decided to head back to their camp. They headed home for the Guild soon after.

* * *

_**Be sure to review! And check out my poll, I need help determining which fic to focus on for a while, or whether to start a new one yet!**_

_**1) And totally not statues...**_

_**2) And thus, RagarthXSernity was born**_

_**Sev: Level 18**_

_**Rag: Level 18**_

_**Breeze: Level 18**_

_**Serenity: Level 16**_

_**Silver Rank!**_


	10. Team Ragnarok

_**Well, after about a month I have returned with a new chapter. (Had to attend a viewing and funeral, which makes it really hard to focus on the happy world of Pokémon) Hope you enjoy! **_

* * *

It had been a few days since the Guild made it home after the Expedition to Fogbound Lake. Every Apprentice seemed to be slowly returning to their old assigned duties and rhythms. In their free time, however, the Pokémon would still talk about Fogbound Lake in secret, taking every precaution to keep the secret from getting out. They were especially careful thanks to Wigglytuff's warning... Do not tell the secret to anyone under any circumstances.

As usual, when the sun rose, so did Loudred. He walked around, entering the other rooms and noisily rousing the other Apprentices from their slumbers. As usual, when he went to wake up Team Sky, he received the usual arguments from Stillbreeze. As usual, he left in a huff. It seemed nothing had changed... yet now in Loudred's eyes they were his equals, risking their lives on the Expedition... not only for the sake of the Expedition... but also for his sake. He would never forget their bravery.

The blue spiked Totodile was the first to wake fully, rubbing his eyes and stretching. The small green Cyndaquil was next, slightly nudging his Eevee companion awake. Sevek tried to nudge his gold-green Chikorita friend to consciousness, only getting a powerful vine to the face. He stepped back a few paces and rubbed his forehead, where the vine had struck. "Don't even think about it Sevek." Stillbreeze muttered, waking up and standing on her four feet. Her eyes were confident pools of gold, seemingly containing a special flame all their own.

"Come on," Sevek smiled, "don't want to miss the briefing, do we?" Upon seeing Stillbreeze ready to make a, most likely, snide comment, he hurriedly said, "come on!" and bolted off into the hallway. In his rush to excite his Team into action, he didn't look where he was going and ran into Sunflora, who had just come from her room.

"Eek!" She exclaimed, not expecting the sudden tackle so early in the morning.

"Oh! S-sorry Sunflora! I didn't mean to run into you like that!"

"Sure you didn't," Stillbreeze smirked, making Sevek slightly blush.

"Come on you guys, let's get going for the day!" Sunflora said with pep. Team Sky followed her into the main chamber for the morning announcements.

When they took their places, they saw four powerful-looking Pokémon standing near Wigglytuff. The first was a Ghost-Type with powerful arms, a single red eye, a strange yellow antenna-looking thing on its head, and a giant mouth on his stomach. Next to him was an ash-gray Charizard with green eyes and wings, and who wore a necklace with an emerald attached to it at the center. His eyes looked powerful, ambitious, and determined... He was probably the Leader of the Team. By the Charizard stood a ghostly Ninetails. She was mostly gray-white with the exception of her eyes, which were a faint sky blue. She appeared both elegant and intelligent. Lastly, standing near her was a gray-black Sandslash who also had those sky blue eyes. Ninetails and Sandslash seemed to be the least intimidating of the Team, rather just looking around with interest at the different Apprentices and thinking to times past.

"Today," Chatot announced, derailing Sevek's train of thought, "we are graced with the appearance of the famous Team Ragnarok. If you didn't already know, they are led by Inferno, the Charizard, with his second-in-command being Dusknoir, the Ghost-Type Pokémon of the group." Both Pokémon acknowledged their calls by nodding slightly. "Then, also in Team Ragnarok are Moonbeam the Ninetails and Slasher the Sandslash." The two followed their Leaders' examples, nodding as they were called. "They will be staying near Treasure Town for a while as they carry out their investigation on the missing Time Gear."

"While they're here though," Wigglytuff continued, "try not to bother them with things like autographs. They're busy Pokémon too. And we have an image to keep as well you know!" Even as he said this, he had a silly grin on his face, letting everyone instantly believe that Chatot had really just bribed him into saying this. It also showed them he really didn't mind if they did try any of the above. Chatot smiled and nodded in agreement, not realizing Wigglytuff had said everything with a smile.

"Of course," Dusknoir innocently started, gaining everyone's attention, "we still would be happy to assist any Pokémon if they came to us."

"Cool!"

"If any of you have any leads..." Inferno stated, his gruff voice easily heard over the Apprentices' commotion, "let us know immediately. We need to catch whoever or whatever is doing this before it's too late to stop them."

Everyone fell silent, afraid and yet awed by the Charizard's words and intents. Wigglytuff walked to Inferno and said, "of course we'll let you know. Our Guild is a giant pub of information, so I'm sure we can get quality information to you easily and quickly." The black and green Charizard nodded and led his Team up the ladder and out of the Guild.

"Wow, tough Team, aren't they?" Ragarth commented.

"Yeah," Serenity agreed with a nod, "Sev, we need to be more like them!"

"Tough and respected... I agree with Serenity." Stillbreeze nodded. "That's why we're here, right?"

"We'll get there eventually guys." Sevek smiled, "We need to train and get stronger first though." His smile seemed contagious as his Teammates all started slightly grinning. "My only question is... if they're so famous, why didn't we hear of them before?" That remark was a bit too loud, causing a few other Apprentices to turn and stare.

"You DIDN'T?" Loudred boomed, gaining the rest of the Guild's attention. "Too BAD!"

"Come on Loudred," Sunflora slightly scolded, "Team Ragnarok is new on the scene! In all honesty no one even knew about them until about a week ago! They became famous almost overnight... almost like a comet!"

"Of COURSE we would know before YOU!" Loudred exclaimed, "we ARE more well known than YOUR lot!" The blue and yellow Pokémon burst out laughing, causing many Apprentices to cover their ears.

"Loudred!" Chatot squawked, ruffling a few feathers, "your voice is ridiculously loud!"

"Sorry Chatot sir..." He muttered, embarrassed.

"Alright. Apprentices are dismissed. Team Sky, please come here for a moment."

"What'd we do wrong!" Serenity asked nervously, looking at Sevek.

"I have no idea. But we gotta go find out anyways. Come on." He led them over to Chatot as Wigglytuff walked off for whatever reason compelled him to. "Er... what's up Chatot?"

"I was wondering if I could push an errand on your Team, Sevek." He glanced over to Wigglytuff's office, indicating the errand was for the Guildmaster.

"Uh... sure," Stillbreeze answered uncertainly, knowing she would probably regret agreeing to whatever it was.

"I would like your Team to go to the Kecleon Market to see if they have plans to restock on Perfect Apples. If we are able, buy them and bring them back to the Guild. I'm sorry to push this on you, but we all know what could happen if the Guildmaster doesn't get his precious Perfect Apples!" Chatot concluded, probably thinking back to when Bidoof failed to keep the Perfect Apples safe (by eating them) and when Wigglytuff blew up about it. The colorful bird with a music note for a head smiled at the memory.

"Right. We'll be back soon. Anything else we need to do today?" Ragarth inquired, figuring if they had to do anything else, it'd be better to know ahead of time.

"After the errand, go about your regular duties."

"Alright." Sevek agreed, "let's go guys." They started off, climbed the ladders and left the Guild. They went first to Spinda's Café to visit the dizzy panda and his Wynaut and Wobbufet friends.

Upon entering the underground café, Team Sky was met with the friendly smiles and a cheering "hey! It's the Totter Orb 'Dile!" Sevek seemed embarrassed, but continued to walk in, greeting the various Pokemon. He noticed the ghostly Ninetails and gray-black Sandslash from before. They were sitting at a table with Mr. Mime, Zigzagoon, and Pachirisu, telling stories and drinking what was likely a Sitrus Berry drink variation. Their audience seemed surprised by the story, as they collectively gasped, like in awe of one of Team Ragnarok's exploits.

Spinda walked up to Team Sky and greeted them with his happy smile and dizzy eyes. "Hello friends. Welcome back to Spinda's Café. May I take your orders?"

"Sure!" Serenity agreed happily.

Sevek got out the Treasure Bag and said, "I'll take... a Pecha Berry drink please."

"Any specifics?"

"Nope. Surprise me!" He handed Spinda the Pecha Berry. The red and yellow panda inspected what he'd be working with, then took the others' orders.

"So then... the Pecha, the Oran, the Blast Seed, and the Rawst drinks?"

"Yep!"

"Okay. I'll call you when they're ready!"

"Cool!" Sevek smiled, "hey, let's go see Wob and Wy! We've got some junk to get rid of anyways. And who knows? It might help another Team later on."

"Sounds good to me," Ragarth nodded.

They walked over to Wob and Wy's stand and greeted their friends. They got a Silver Lotto Ticket with their 'junk' and waited to hear the winning color, which was on each lotto ticket. "Blue!" They looked at their ticket in shock and cheered. "Hurray!" "Haha!"

"Oh," Wynaut smirked, "you haven't seen anything yet." He gave them a TM (a Technical Machine) that he claimed would help one of them learn a move known as Brick Break. "To use a TM, simply focus on the move and focus on how you would use the move while touching the TM. In this case, Brick Break is a powerful punch or chop that can break barriers like Reflect or Light Screen! Steel and Rock-Types absolutely hate Brick Break!" The young Wynaut exclaimed, happy for their win. "And nooow... it's time to dance!" He hit a button shaped like a Ludicolo head and festive music played, inspiring Sevek and Serenity to dance.

A big yellow Pokémon with a big green 'hat' jumped through a fake wall, a Ludicolo, followed by several little green dancers with green-yellow skirts and red flowers in their ears, Bellossom. "Oh yeaah!"

The café was quickly filled with excitement as the Ludicolo and Bellossom started to dance to the fast-paced music. Even those around Team Ragnarok looked around, seeing what started the music and what was going on. They saw Sevek's Team looking shocked and happy, and made the connection to the lotto ticket win. The Ninetails, Moonbeam, slightly smiled while her Sandslash companion, Slasher, merely chuckled when Ludicolo grabbed Sevek and brought him into the dance.

Shockingly to everyone aside from Stillbreeze and Ragarth, the young Totodile caught on fast and seemed to enjoy himself. What his Teammates didn't expect was that Sevek would join with Ludicolo in grabbing the others in his Team and forcing them into the dance. As it turned out, Ragarth and Serenity had some decent moves, while Stillbreeze jumped out of it to avoid making a fool of herself.

Some of the other café regulars attempted to join in, but most had little luck in catching on to the dance quickly. After it all, they all laughed and collapsed, tired. Spinda came back and delivered their drinks, seeing how tired the Team was.

"Thanks Spinda!" Sevek exclaimed. "Never saw that coming, haha!" He started laughing as he grabbed his drink. Sadly for him, laughing and drinking doesn't usually go well together and he ended up with Pecha smoothie coming out of his nose. "Ah!" He rubbed his nose as some other regulars laughed.

"You sure have some moves Sevek!" Zigzagoon laughed. He was slightly worn out from trying to keep up so much.

"Yeah!" Ludicolo echoed, walking up to Sevek, "who taught ya?"

"No one I guess." He reflected, "I guess since I'm happy a lot... I just got lots of practice."

"If ya want, you can join our troop."

"Back off buddy, he's ours!"(1) Stillbreeze asserted, dragging Sevek away from Ludicolo (and his drink) with a vine. The Totodile tried to scowl in response, but couldn't keep a straight face and burst out laughing, earning him a smack to the back of the head. He whined about his drink and rubbed his head. "Don't you dare think you can leave us!" A slight amount of anger was in her voice, mirrored by a slight flame in her eyes.

"Heh! Never would even dream of leaving our Team! I've already got the best Team out there anyways." His blue eyes brimmed with pride and his Teammates also felt this contagious pride.

"Excuse me," the ghostly Ninetails of Team Ragnarok began, words seemingly elegant, soft as silk. "You're from Wigglytuff's Guild, correct?"

"Yep. You two are from Team Ragnarok right?" Ragarth politely asked. "Moonbeam if I remember right. And Slasher."

"Ah, so it was you I heard about. Team Sky, the Team that braved the Warzone..." She almost seemed to be inspecting them, looking for tell-tale signs of power or greatness. Though her sky blue eyes were kind, loving even, toward Ragarth.(2)

"Impressive, to say the least," Slasher remarked. "Not many Teams can boast coming back alive from there. Though I've heard the violence is finally downgrading."

The entire Team seemed to slightly puff up with pride after hearing the compliment. Though Sevek soon found another thought coming to mind. "Er... Miss Moonbeam... I was wondering if you knew anything about a black and blue Grovyle?" Stillbreeze seemed to be curious as well, thinking back to her vision with a Grovyle that matched the same description. "Or maybe something about a Croconaw called Cyrilla?" Ragarth caught on after this. Sevek was thinking back to Clayre's words and accusations.

After closing her sky blue eyes and reflecting for a short amount of time, Moonbeam calmly said, "I know about both. Though, I must ask why?"

"I heard from Clayre from the Warzone that I might be related to one of them. I'm just wondering if I can find one of them to ask, you know?"

"I'm afraid that's impossible. Cyrilla has been dead for about a year, while it would be unwise, no... suicide to go after Shadow, the Grovyle you're speaking of." Her words brought an abrupt shock to the Totodile and his Teammates. Sevek's jaw slightly lowered and he thought back to those memories of his... if Shadow and the Grovyle from those memories were the same... what changed in him?

"What happened? Didn't he used to be strong and smart?" Sevek tried to convince himself it wasn't the same Grovyle.

"Shadow once fought in a Team to protect the weak and innocent... but he eventually fell to the disease of the Primals. Now he plans on destroying everything by the cover of darkness. We don't know if his plans concern the Time Gear thefts or not." She seemed convinced he did have something to do with it however, much to Sevek's disappointment. "All that we truly know is that he's a clever foe... seemingly three steps ahead of any pursuer at any given time. For your own safety, Sevek, don't seek him out. He will kill you."

Sevek gulped. If he wasn't concerned about his heritage before... now he was. Actually, terrified seemed more like what he felt at the moment. "Right... I promise I won't go after Shadow."

"You know our names?" Serenity asked.

"Yeah. Team Sky's pretty well-known around this area. The Pokémon around here have high hopes for your Team." Slasher answered.

"Heh, that's nice!"

"What brings a super famous Team like yours to Spinda's Café?" Stillbreeze pondered. Spinda looked slightly miffed with the Chikorita's comment, believing the café was much better known than what she'd implied. Noticing Spinda's irritation, Stillbreeze continued hastily, "not that this place isn't well-known or great. Just curious."

Moonbeam chuckled slightly and waved a tail; Spinda seemed to calm down slightly. "Slasher and I have heard good things about this café from several Pokémon. So naturally, we wanted to see for ourselves." Looking happily towards Spinda, she continued, "Needless to say, I find this café very relaxing and useful for the different Exploration Teams." Spinda seemed overjoyed to hear Moonbeam's words, jumping for joy and almost slipping backwards.

"H-hey! Thanks! That truly means a lot to me that a Pokémon from a Team like Team Ragnarok would look at this place in such a positive way!" He bowed and showed his gratitude.

"If you four want," Slasher smirked, "we can show you to our Leader." The Sandslash seemed pretty happy, obviously enjoying the great atmosphere at the café.

The four friends' eyes lit up in excitement... they were going to meet the famous Leader of Team Ragnarok. They were considered friends of the famous Team! Sevek quickly glanced at his Team; they all seemed excited and ready to go. With a happy nod, the group left the café.

Moonbeam and Slasher led the Pokémon through Treasure Town and over to Sharpedo Bluff. As they reached the end of the bluff, Sevek could make out two Pokémon near the very edge of the cliff: a gray Charizard and Dusknoir. They seemed to be talking about something important by the sound of their voices. All Sevek managed to make out was: "Stopping... Resistance... goal... beautiful but deceiving... find the fugitives..." The two quickly noticed the appearance of Team Sky and turned around.

"Ah hello. You must be Team Sky, from the Guild." Dusknoir greeted. When the Pokémon before him nodded he continued, "It's a pleasure to meet you all." It seemed, at least to Ragarth, that Dusknoir was scrutinizing them... for what... he didn't know. But he was certain the Ghost-Pokémon's eye was analyzing them... one by one. It felt kind of creepy to the timid Fire-Type actually, though he did his best not to show these feelings.

Inferno gave a slight nod, his emerald eyes locking with each individual of the Team's. His eyes had an unidentifiable flame in them... madness or passion... it seemed hard for Ragarth to really say. However, when those emerald eyes locked with Sevek's blue ones, he seemed to slightly notice something, but also looked as if he might doubt what he had just thought. Even without using his voice, the scarred gray and green Charizard was very intimidating. When he spoke, his voice was low and slightly condescending, probably without his noticing. "So then, you four are the Team Sky I've been hearing so much about..." He seemed almost annoyed as he continued, "very well. As you know, my name's Inferno. I've also heard that your Guild is finally starting to realize the danger that the thief of the Time Gear poses... your Team, along with the others will be working with my Team then." The Charizard nodded again, whether out of approval or not Ragarth couldn't really tell. The Pokémon before him was difficult to read... to say the least.

Wow! He's really strong. Sevek thought, taking in the powerful Leader that stood before him. I wonder if he'd help us learn more about getting stronger and being a better Team? Only one way to find out! "Hey, Inferno? I was wondering... how did you get to be such a powerful Team?"

"An Exploration Team needs to have members for all positions. Members who know medicine... members who can fight and who fight with their specialized styles like aces... it doesn't hurt to have members who focus on strategy and intelligence either. A Team is made from the sum of its parts. A strong Team's sum is far greater than any one Pokémon's..."

The little Totodile slightly understood what the Charizard said... but still couldn't quite grasp it. He nodded in understanding only because he figured Stillbreeze or Ragarth would likely know the answer and could explain it to him. "I see." He started to lead his Team away to run their errand, when Marill and Azurill ran up to Ragarth. Azurill looked pretty miffed, while Marill looked shocked and near tears.

"B-Brother!" The older of the two Pokémon exclaimed. "C-could you help us?"

"Calm down Marill!" Ragarth seemed pretty confused. "What exactly happened?"

"Well! Azurill and I finally found his Water Float on the beach... and we were happy because it's really hard to replace-"

"Okay. So then what happened?"

"Th-then! Some bullies showed up and stole it from us! Th-they said 'if you ever want your precious item back... then claim it in the depths of Amp Plains!'"

"Rotten cowards!" Sevek almost growled, making the others look at him in surprise. "What? It's cruel to take some tyke's special thing from them. I hate Pokémon that do that just for laughs."

"They also said: 'Go ahead and run off after your precious Team Sky! 'Cause you're obviously too weak to fight us for it!'"

Looking calmly at his little brothers, Ragarth reached out his stubby little arms and touched their 'shoulders'. "It's gonna be okay. If those creeps have a bone to pick with us... they should've tried something on us. We'll get Azurill's Water Float back... no doubt." He gently smiled.

"Yep!" Sevek agreed. "We'll teach those bullies a lesson and have your Water Float back! And all before supper too!"

"Not so sure about the 'before supper' part Sevek." Stillbreeze rolled her eyes. "Especially since it takes quite a few hours just to reach Amp Plains. Then we'd have to get to the depths. Then we'd need to come all the way back. It's probably going to take about a day to about a day-and-a-half."

"Oh..." An embarrassed smile came over Sevek's face. "Whoops! Well, you get the point: we're gonna take care of this."

Azurill laughed and Marill looked at Ragarth questioningly, which the Cyndaquil met with a soft, reassuring smile. Everything would be fine. Everything would go back to normal soon enough.

And through it all, Inferno and Dusknoir watched. they watched and listened to each word said, as though they were trying to detect something. Apparently failing, though no one knew but themselves, Dusknoir stated, "many Electric-Type Pokémon live within Amp Plains. And t the depths is supposed to be a very powerful Electric-Type, stronger than the others by far. For this, we will lend you our assistance."

"Th-thanks!"

"There's no way those bullies are getting away with anything now!"

"Thanks Brother, Team Sky, Team Ragnarok."(3) Marill wished them all luck as they prepared for Amp Plains. When they were ready, they set off for the electrified fields.

The path to Amp Plains was almost too clearly marked, almost too peaceful as well. There were few trees along their way, and the sky seemed slightly cloudy, like it would storm either later in the day or early in the next day. There was a pleasant wind, probably waiting for the storm to catch up with it. Overall, it was a really nice day, especially for a Water-Type like Sevek. However, the same couldn't be said for the Fire-Types like Ragarth, Moonbeam, or Inferno. All three of them seemed slightly annoyed by the chance of rain.

Quite a few hours passed with the good mood-bad mood clash. However, due to the infectious nature of Sevek's happiness, Ragarth and Moonbeam seemed a little more content with what the future weather might hold. Inferno, on the other hand, had his green tail flame to worry about and absolutely despised the very thought of water falling from the sky. He maintained his annoyed mood, not that Team Sky noticed very much.

Finally they reached a type of crevice in a light gray rock wall. This was the entrance to the dungeon. The sky seemed darker and a few strikes of lightning were seen, forking and splitting the sky with light. Thunder was heard soon after each flash, its voice booming and demanding. Rain began to fall, and Inferno couldn't look more pissed off if he tried.

"Let's get this over with," he growled, startling Ragarth and Serenity. It wasn't like a small rainstorm would kill the Charizard, for he was powerful and healthy, but rain to him was similar to hail to the others. It was small, unavoidable, fast, and painful.

"Patience friend, we wouldn't want to rush things and make a simple mistake now would we?" Dusknoir seemingly teased. To Ragarth, however, Dusknoir's teasing wasn't nearly as strange as the way he said 'friend'. Almost as if the word had little or no meaning to him. Maybe it was just his imagination... "Lead the way Sevek. This is your mission after all."

"Alright. Ragarth, since it was your little bros that came to us, you should probably lead. Either you or Stillbreeze since I'm... kinda bad against Electric-Types..." Sevek looked embarrassed and slightly nervous. To his Teammates... it was both a relief that he was thinking... and a concern that he was thinking rationally.

"What's the matter Sevek? Scared?" Stillbreeze taunted, making her friend look sheepishly at her.

"Not really... But I am nervous about the Electric-Type at the end of the dungeon... heheheh. I'd rather not get hurt like last time.." Although it was difficult to notice, thanks to the rain, a small sweat drop started to form on the side of the Totodile's head.

Stillbreeze snorted in laugher and smirked, while Serenity seemed to remember how badly they were injured in that fight. Ragarth tried to calm Sevek by saying, "yeah, last time was pretty bad. But what are the odds of this Electric-Type being nearly that big or bad? And who's to say it's actually a Legendary this time either? Probly just an egomaniac."

Sevek seemed to regain some composure and agreed to lead the mission. Even if he was much more cautious than normal, it was still good for the Team that he led.

Inside the dungeon, was a labyrinth of openings and cut-offs made from stone, gravel, and yellow-green grass. Due to this dungeon having no roofing, being open to the outside world, the storm's rain still attacked their vision, making it harder to navigate the maze of stone.

Like Dusknoir predicted, there were numerous Electric-Type Pokémon here. Some weak, some strong, some clever, some blunt. All that attacked were repelled; Sevek soon learned that while in rain, his Water Gun was much stronger than usual, due to the increased water surrounding him. The opposite could be said about Ragarth's Flamethrower and Flame Wheel. They got weaker due to the water's influence. Stillbreeze was encouraged and found new strategies for dealing with the weather around them. These strategies helped them to battle more efficiently, keeping them in a good momentum.

After what felt like hours (to the Fire-Types) they reached a zone devoid of movement. A layer of stone arched over them, protecting them from the storm outside, which slightly cheered even Inferno up. The storm could still be heard, but compared to the areas with open sky above them, it felt pretty safe and secure. They were in a Midpoint.

Inferno burned himself dry, while Moonbeam quickly instructed Ragarth on how to do a controlled burn to dry himself off with. Sevek focused on learning Brick Break while all this happened. Both he and Ragarth succeeded in their tasks, and the others rested.

"How 'bout we take a rest here?" Slasher suggested. "That way we can think through our next course of action." Seeing Sevek's confused look, the Sandslash explained, "Midpoints, while useful, usually indicate a powerful 'boss' Pokémon at the end of a dungeon. Sometimes a Legendary, sometimes not. Sometimes there's literally nothing at the end of a dungeon, even if there is a Midpoint. It's just better to be prepared ya know?" He winked, playing along with the mood.

"So," Serenity asked, "what Electric-Type is at the end?" The others seemed to nod in agreement with her curiosity.

Dusknoir took a hand and let his fingers slightly drop onto his neck in succession, while he thought aloud. "I believe it to either be Raikou or Zapdos. If it's Raikou... then we could probably negotiate our way with no fight..."

"And if it's Zapdos?" Serenity continued, already afraid of what the answer probably was.

"Then we'd have no choice but to fight." Sevek and Serenity slightly shivered at the thought. Sevek, because he really didn't want to fight a powerful Electric-Type; Serenity because she really didn't want to be eaten by something.

"So what about them?" Stillbreeze slightly yawned, not concerned about Electric-Types in the least.

"Both are considered Legendary Electric-Type Pokémon"-Sevek wanted to cry at this already-"both are extremely powerful. Raikou is known as a Legendary Dog, while Zapdos Is known as a Legendary Bird"-Stillbreeze nearly choked on air at the second part-"Raikou, as far as Legendaries go, is pretty manageable in size, while Zapdos is only slightly larger."

"Er... how large?" Ragarth asked, trying to get an idea on how big this thing would be, "as large as Groudon? Or smaller...? How much then...?"

"Luckily, both are much smaller than Groudon. Nearly one-fourth one's average size." Extreme relief could be seen on Sevek and Stillbreeze's faces. And who could blame them? They didn't want a Type disadvantage against something colossal. It was hard enough taking on Groudon, who they had the advantage over Type wise. "Raikou would be close to my or Inferno's height, while Zapdos would be slightly larger." With the relief easily seen, Dusknoir made it a mental note to ask them about Groudon later.

"Alright. I agree with Slasher... let's take a breather..." Sevek hastily commented, madly searching for a Blast Seed. Sadly for him, Ragarth ate the last one at the café. Sevek internally panicked, but was cut short from this as Inferno's gaze met his panicked one. The gaze held no ill intents, only curiosity. However the intensity of his gaze snapped Sevek out of his panicked state.

A few minutes later, when they felt rested enough, the two Teams continued on their way to the dungeon's depths. The storm hadn't quite broken and Inferno's irritation returned. Things were pretty much the same as in the first part of the dungeon, except that the color of the walls had changed from gray to a dull yellow, and the Pokémon here were noticeably stronger here, some even evolved.

Upon reaching the depths of Amp Plains, they found an empty expanse of gray stone and yellow grass. Some stones formed pillars, while most kept the area secluded from the outside world, with the exception of the open sky above them. That sky revealed night-time had touched the outside world near the storm's end. Hopefully that meant they would be able to get the Water Float and run before any Legendary got angry. And speaking of the Water Float, it happened to be right at the stone pillar's side, reflecting the moon's silver-white glow on it's glowing crystal blue build. It wasn't an exaggeration to say that this was made just for Azurill, as the shape and size fit so well. It was pretty.

"Okay, I'll get this and we can go," Ragarth quickly said, walking slowly towards the item. When he grabbed it however, two dark Pokémon jumped out from the shadows: Cacturn and Prinplup... Thorn and Crasher!

"I don't think so!" Crasher yelled, using Bubblebeam on Ragarth, who quickly dodged and gave the Water Float to Sevek, who quickly placed it in the Treasure Bag. "Don't steal what we already stole fool! Don't you have any honor?"

"Oh yeah, coming from the creeps that stole this Water Float from a little kid! That's rich!" Stillbreeze countered.

"Shut up 'Rita!"

Stillbreeze glared daggers at the insolent Prinplup. Then she smirked and attacked with her newly learned Magical Leaf. The pretty leaves, each a different color, seemed to lock onto Crasher and thus, every leaf hit, causing the Prinplup to fall to his knees. He brought his beak in the best snarl he could manage, then got up, using Drill Peck on Stillbreeze. Sevek blocked her with Brick Break, causing a small burst of power to knock both Pokémon back a few steps.

"Gah! Get outta my way 'Dile!"

"Nah. This fight's between you and me now!" Sevek and Crasher began exchanging attacks, however, the Prinplup was noticeably slower and received many more hits than he could dish out. Overcome by Sevek's newfound power, Crasher fainted.

Thorn was left standing. "The reason we brought you here wasn't because we were eager to fight you... but so that you could play with the Electric Beast that lives here!" As he spoke, the night sky opened up and a flash of lightning blinded everyone, masking the devious duo's escape. "This is what you get for splitting our Team to bits!" The Cacturn's cruel laughter broke out as the light returned to darkness and shadows as before... but now a new Pokémon was there... the Legendary Bird... Zapdos.

It's wings were yellow and black, mimicking a storm cloud in a sense. Its entire body had jagged feathers, clearly showing its Electric-Type heritage. Its eyes were sharp and possibly violet, already judging the Pokémon before it, and its beak and claws looked positively lethal. Its beak was long and orange and its legs and feet mimicked the color. Its claws were white, shining in the moonlight. "Who dares trespass on my domain?" A female voice cried out, almost like thunder from the heavens.

Sevek flinched, Stilbreeze gasped, Serenity cowered, while Ragarth stood, watching the Legendary in awe. He answered, "Just a couple of Exploration Teams. But... if you let us leave, we won't come back. We won't bother you any more."

A small electric charge went out, just before the Cyndaquil's feet. It was a warning shot, but it still slightly shocked Ragarth. "Those that trespass on my domain... who test my grace... then expect to steal from me and flee... I will never release!"

Dusknoir stepped, or floated, forward, trying to pacify the enraged Pokémon. "Ah, but we did not mean to trespass, nor did we steal from you. We came here only on an errand to save an item stolen from a youth." At the word 'errand' Sevek paled a little. They'd forgotten the errand for the Guildmaster! "The true thieves have already fled, I'm afraid."

Zapdos didn't seem to care much for Dusknoir's explanation, slightly growling, electricity charging all over her, readying her for a battle. "It's been a long time since I've had a battle worth fighting... prove to me you're worth it... and you may do as you wish here... and being the graceful and merciful Pokémon that I am... I'll even give the Pokémon that defeats me a prize of my own treasure." Inferno looked slightly curious, but still annoyed that he had to waste his time and energy on a fight. Zapdos quickly attacked with Discharge, sending powerful electricity all over the battlefield. Sevek jumped behind the pillar of stone, as did his Teammates. They would wait the attack out. Slasher broke the energy off, having an immunity to electricity, and protected Inferno, who had a disadvantage. Moonbeam used Dig to avoid the attack, while Dusknoir faded into a nearby stone wall, avoiding damage.

Ragarth jumped out, using Flamethrower and scoring some damage-not much-but at least he did something useful. Stillbreeze followed with Magical Leaf and Sevek with Water Gun. "Serenity! Pinball!" Ragarth called as he started a Flame Wheel. She used Iron Tail on him, sending him flying at Zapdos and causing a minor burn to the Pokémon. He bounced off, hit the pillar and bounced back to Zapdos, scoring a slight extra amount of damage. It wasn't enough. The electric bird shocked him into submission, his only grace being a Reviver Seed thrown at him by Sevek. It gave him a second wind and he fled back to the pillar.

Inferno used his Flamethrower, sending out green-black flames that even melted some of the surrounding stones down a little. This was mixed with Moonbeam's blue-gray Flamethrower and really did some damage to the flying fiend. Dusknoir used Dark Pulse, sending out waves of dark energy, while Slasher combined the energy with his Slash attack, managing to knock Zapdos to the ground. She was tiring, that much could be said. But she wouldn't give in, electrifying the entire battlefield's ground and zapping everyone who couldn't avoid the attack, which was everyone but Inferno, who flew, and Dusknoir, who floated out of harm's way.

"Gack!" Sevek cried out, taking the most damage from the attack. Small amounts of loose electricity continually zapped him, causing damage over time and paralyzing him. All the Totodile could do was fall to his knees in pain, ready to faint.

"Sev!" Ragarth pulled out their last Reviver Seed and gave it to him. Sevek was gasping and shuddering in pain from the electrical attack. When he was ready to faint, the seed's aura went over him and renewed his strength. Ready for another round with the flying electrical fiend Zapdos.

"Sevek?"

"'M fine!"

"Slasher! Guard Sevek!" Inferno barked the order out. The dark Sandslash nodded understanding and jumped in front of Sevek. He looked ready to cover him from anything the crazed Legendary had to offer.

"Don't worry. I've got ya covered. I'm a Ground-Type, don't really feel Electric-Type moves." Sevek nodded.

Zapdos continued her assault, attacking with Discharge again. Sevek figured it would be the best chance of attack and had Slasher lead the way up to Zapdos, taking every bit of electricity she threw at him with no complaints; Serenity used Helping Hand to slightly power up Sevek's next attack. It seemed to go in almost perfect slow motion as the two charged at her, her Discharge ended and she looked in surprise as Sevek's fangs turned icy, snapped shut on her wing, and caused a good amount of pain to jolt into her body. His Bite had changed into Ice Fang, freezing her wing as Sevek released her wing from his mouth. She knew she had lost when she couldn't fly. She knew she had lost when the others came close, glaring at her. And she wasn't disappointed. She was never Primal... just really wanting a good fight... and she got one.

Sevek quickly joined with the others. Zapdos stood before them looking calm yet amused. "Very well done Totodile! Who'd have thought a Water-Type would be the one to ground me?(4) I'm happy with this fight. As you were the one to beat me... you shall receive the treasure you earned. Step forward." Sevek wasn't too sure of that idea right now. After Stillbreeze pushed him forward, he hesitantly stood before the beast that was just trying to kill him, unsure of trickery. The bird of lightning pulled a mysterious pink gem from the middle of her side of the pillar and offered it to Sevek. "Take it."

"Er... thanks. What is it?" He accepted the gem, taking in its light weight, its pink, nearly pulsating glow, and feeling a slight power pulse with that glow.

"I honestly have no idea. One day I woke up and a Shaymin dropped it in my territory. It never came back for it, so I kept it. It does seem to have some kind of power, no?"

"Yeah, it does." His face brightened, "Thanks Zapdos!" The Legendary nodded and walked off, most likely back to her roosting place.

"Not too shabby for a Totodile." Slasher joked. He noticed the gem and looked shocked, as if not expecting something like that to have been just 'dropped' by a Shaymin. "Th-that!"

"Wh-what!"

"I have no idea what that is." Slasher seemed to know, but seemed to shut his trap when Inferno glared at him, angry for whatever reason.

Sevek didn't seem to notice and simply answered, "oh... yeah. Neither do I."

Inferno slightly scowled, Moonbeam and Slasher seemed to glance knowingly at it, as if they were in on some secret. And Dusknoir looked amused, a slight smirk forming on the mouth on his stomach. "Let's get going." Inferno gruffly said. The group started to leave. They knew their way through the labyrinth by now and followed the neatly marked trail back home to the Guild and Treasure Town. The dark night had turned to almost dawn by the time they had reached home. The moonlight had given their travels home the only light they truly needed.

When they had reached Spinda's Café, the two Teams disbanded for the night. Moonbeam walked over to Sevek and simply said, "keep an eye on that gem. It's more important than you'd think." She glanced over to Ragarth with that same strangely loving expression as she had the day before and walked after Slasher.

Team Sky had wearily made their way back to their room. They threw a Sleep Seed at Chatot to keep him down and snuck past the rest.(5) They settled down, knowing it would be hard to wake up in the morning.

* * *

"This is it," the black and blue Grovyle calmly stated. "This is where we find the third Time Gear."

The Grovyle was standing at the peak of Steam Cave, facing Fogbound Lake. A sharp roar cut through the still night, causing his partner Staravia to flinch. The Grovyle looked as though he'd expected that to happen. He almost looked bored.

"Can we take this thing?" Staravia asked as the large Groudon illusion appeared before them, causing the ground under them to quake.

"Of course. And remember, Groudon lives underground in the desert. This one isn't real. Probably Uxie's illusionary guard." He stood tall, ready for anything.

"WHO DARES TRESPASS ON MY DOMAIN? I AM GROUDON, GUARDIAN OF FOGBOUND LAKE! ALL WHO DARE TRESPASS SHALL PERISH!" It roared and quickly used Fire Blast, aiming for the intruders. It missed however, as the Grovyle jumped onto the Staravia's back and they flew out of harm's way. The duo then flew up to the illusion's head, easily avoiding any attack that it used against them. Grovyle attacked with Energy Ball, targeting the creature's eye and scoring a direct hit. It roared in anguish as the attack exploded. This strategy was used again on the other side of it's head, effectively blinding the giant.

"Let's finish this!" The Staravia seemed to glow a silver-white mixed with bits of gold feathers in the moonlight as he charged the monster's neck. His wings glowed silver and his companion's blue wrist leaves grew into a powerful, glowing blue blade. Both attacks hit the thrashing Groudon, knocking it over backwards as a blue, flaming aura came from the Leaf Blade attack. The aura consumed the false Groudon, causing it to vanish in a display of fire, which through flying, both intruders avoided.

Both dropped to the ground before a great lake, Fogbound Lake. They both seemed astounded by the lake's beauty, taking in the fountain and the wondrous lights and colors within it. "It'll be a shame to lose this," Staravia commented, not happy about what they were going to do.

"It's only temporary Axle." The Grovyle stated, feeling slightly guilty for what had to be done. "Let's get this over with."

"No. I won't let you." Uxie appeared, anger written in his expression. "I knew it was a mistake to trust them. I knew they would tell. I knew this would happen. I should have taken their memories. It would have protected this place."

"I have no idea who you're talking about. We've known about the presence of a Time Gear here... for a long time. No one told us... And I'm sorry we have to do this Uxie." The Grovyle shot past Uxie and used a powerful Leaf Blade to his back before he could react. It stunned him.

"Don't..." Uxie almost begged.

"I'm sorry. Axle. Take Uxie out of here, where it will be safe. I'll get the Time Gear." Grovyle ordered as he walked to the water's edge, judging how far he'd have to swim.

"Alright Shadow." The golden brown Staravia, Axle, quickly picked up Uxie with his claws, flying him to safety as the blue and black Grovyle, Shadow, dived into the water, snatched the Time Gear, and swam as quickly as he could back to the shore. The expected wall of darkness consuming the lake, draining its beauty and freezing everything in time. As soon as he reached the shore, he fled as quickly as he could, barely avoiding Time's freezing behind him. When he met up with Axle, the duo took off, back into the night. Uxie was left behind. Angry. Knowing he'd better alert the others. He was forced to watch as his home was trapped in time... angry.

* * *

When morning came, things had gone about as usual. The morning address, the scolding they had expected for ditching their duty to the Guildmaster... it was all normal... until a Sentrent came... telling the sad news to Wigglytuff... another Time Gear had been stolen. This announcement put the whole Guild in a panic.

Inferno's Team came quickly to hear the news. While they weren't pleased... it solidified their resolve to catch the thief quickly.

"Another Time Gear is missing?"

"Why? Who would steal a Time Gear?"

"We're in TROUBLE if any more get stolen!"

"Relax. We'll catch the Pokémon responsible." Wigglytuff assured.

"Eek! W-was it the Time Gear from...?"

"Time Gear from where?" Slasher asked.

"No. It wasn't that one Sunflora. Slasher. It's just better off for only us to know its location right now. Sorry." Slasher seemed to understand and Sunflora looked minutely relieved.

"I'm almost certain it was Shadow." Inferno muttered, unheard by the others.

Well, let me know who you think the 'bad guys' are. You'll either find yourself right, wrong, or sorta right, or sorta wrong. Everyone's Level 24 except Serenity who is Level 22. Silver Rank!

* * *

_**1) Based off FMA "Back off Riza he's mine!" And no, there will be no SevXStill for reasons you will find later. There will also be no yaoi and no RagXStill. Again, reasons later on in the fic (or found on my deviantART account same name as here) will let you know why. **_

_**2) You'll find out later. **_

_**3) Yep, Team Sky's just THAT out of the loop. XD **_

_**4) Terrible puns FTW! **_

_**5) You'd think they'd get in trouble for doing that so often! :D **_


	11. The Devil in the Desert

_**Well… Sorry it's been like… a year since I last updated. *sweatdrop* Hopefully that doesn't happen again and my loyal fanbase will forgive my terrible sin. *sweatdrop* I know you all want to murder me. *hides***_

* * *

_No! There's just no way anything like this can happen! It has to be a lie! That's what it is!_ Sevek thought in fear and denial as he learned of Limestone Cave's missing Time Gear. The others were in the same state he was in: fear and panic. The world around them was starting to end and there seemed to be nothing they could do to stop it… to stop whatever vile forces were causing this decay of Time and the cold, endless darkness that it caused. Would this suffering ever end? Would the terror and unforgivable actions ever cease?

"Sentrent," Dusknoir began, voice oddly calm and composed, as if it were a simple problem with a simple solution… nothing to worry about. In fact, he even seemed somewhat pleased. Was it the information he was enjoying or something else? It was hard to say, as his stomach face never changed expressions and his eye revealed nothing but a quiet calm. "Do you happen to know what type of creature did this treacherous act?" Though with the knowing looks passed between each of Ragnarok's members, they already seemed to know who was to blame.

Sentrent merely nodded, looking on the verge of tears. Its fur was slightly fluffed up and it constantly held its tail, presumably for the comfort it gave. "Th-they were… they w-were horrible. O-one of th-them was a Grovyle… I think… it looked weird…" Reliving its memories seemed to terrify the poor Pokémon; it started wiping tears by using its fluffy brown and black-ringed tail.

"What did it look like? Did it have a partner? What happened?" Inferno asked, seemingly unconcerned about Sentrent's fears and anguish. His eyes already shone with a fiery intensity, almost a type of unidentifiable rage.

Sentrent slightly shook, answering after a long while, "black and blue… eyes like the devil… s-scary… And he… he had a partner… a goldish-brownish Staravia… they… they were too strong… c-couldn't do anything… I tried…" The young Pokémon started sniveling and shaking, finally letting the flood gates open for a full cry. Its wailing cry pierced everyone's hearts, making it ever-clearer that they needed to stop this.

Wigglytuff finally walked over to the young, small Sentrent and put a hand on its shoulder, letting the Pokémon cry into his soft belly and speaking soft words of support to the pitiful thing. "Look here friend, we won't let those two get away with this. We'll stop them and bring Time back to your home. I promise. Just leave it to us." These words made the Sentry Pokémon look up tearfully at Wigglytuff with a slight hope in its eyes.

"Th-thank you Wigglytuff… I… I owe you so much." Wigglytuff simply hugged the Sentrent as his reply.

As this was going on, Dusknoir floated up to where the entire group would hear him easily. "Listen everyone; we know exactly who Sentrent is talking about. These Pokémon are fugitives from Duskeln City, located near Lake Afar and Midnight Forest. We've been chasing them from there all around the continent."

"Who are they exactly?" Serenity asked, slightly cocking her head in confusion.

"A couple of criminal Primals from a group known as the Resistance… a villainous lot that want to freeze Time and bring about a world-wide darkness and genocide. That war in the forest is one of their inventions. They're trying to have only the strongest, most controllable Pokémon under their control. The two that Sentrent mentioned would be Shadow and Axle."

Inferno had a look of bitter anger on his face and mixed in was a flare up of his tail-flame. Gruffly and with anger in his eyes he continued where Dusknoir left off, "Shadow's the only real threat from them however. The Grovyle's stronger than we give him credit. Smarter as well. Only reason he's evaded us so far is because of his damnedable ability to see visions…" A growl of hate came out from the angered, scarred, fire dragon.

The Apprentices appeared unnerved. If even Team Ragnarok couldn't catch this thief, what were the odds that they would be able to? Slight fidgeting and nervous looks toward each other set the mood, despair. And yet, even through this fog of hopelessness, Wigglytuff stood strong, a pillar of hope. "Everyone! Realize that no matter what the challenge has been so far we've been able to overcome it together as a Guild! This isn't any different. We can catch this thief together, both our Guild and Team Ragnarok, and everyone else working together for one goal… we cannot fail!"

"H-hey! That's true!"

"Yeah! Now that I think of it he's right!"

"Haha! Yeah! All we need to do is stick together and we'll win! No doubt!"

_Sounds like a tough mission… but we can do it._ Sevek thought, determination radiating from his brilliant blue eyes. They couldn't fail. They _wouldn't_ fail. _But now I guess I get why Moonbeam warned me about seeing Shadow for answers. If even a team with a type advantage has problems catching him… he's got to be strong. And the vision thing… Stillbreeze has visions… maybe… just maybe we could turn this against him! We could actually catch him! Yes!_ But along with the good news, the bad news loomed in his mind, bringing a slight scowl to his typically happy face. _And what if Shadow is my dad? Then what?_

"Sev, are you okay?" Ragarth asked, turning to his friend and noticing the intensity in his eyes. The others started picking up on this as well and looked at the young Totodile questioningly.

"Yep. Don't worry."

"What do you want us to do Wigglytuff?" Stillbreeze asked, nothing but a cool, business-like tone in her voice. _After all, _she rationed, _the longer we don't do anything the greater the odds are of something worse happening…_

Looking up from Sentrent to the other Apprentices, Wigglytuff said in a determined voice, "Guild! We _must_ do everything in our power to prevent Shadow from succeeding in his plans! To protect and serve those around us is our job! So that's exactly what we'll do. We'll protect the Time Gears and those innocents around them by any means necessary. Diglett, Chimecho, Croagunk, you three go to F-err… you know where… and report on the situation there. The rest of you spend the day preparing for an Exploration! Together we'll stop Time from freezing and protect everything we love!"

The Apprentices cheered and slowly shuffled up and out of the Guild in order to prepare for whatever would come next, perhaps a battle against the great and evil Grovyle. With determination fueling them, they all returned within the hour, suited up and armed for any surprises.

Wigglytuff was still discussing issues and ideas with Chatot and Team Ragnarok and trying to soothe some panicked Pokémon as well. It seemed to be going well. When all the Apprentices were accounted for in the increasingly cramped room, Chatot began the briefing.

His feathers ruffled as the small Head of Intelligence gathered his words and confidence before beginning. "While you were all getting ready, we discussed a few potential Time Gear locations." A hush came over not only the Apprentices but also the crowd of concerned Pokémon as well. "As such, we would like the Team heading to we-know-where to head off as soon as possible." The trio nodded and silently made their way out of the increasingly stuffy and cramped room, up the ladder, and outside. "Loudred and Corphish, we would like you two to search the Eastern Forest. Just please, please, _please_ be careful of the Warzone. It may be shrinking now, but that doesn't reduce the threat if you are captured." The duo nodded and made their way out of the room, heading for the forest.

"I hope they'll be okay…" Serenity was worried, but at this point, who wasn't?

"They're strong Pokémon. They'll be fine." Stillbreeze murmured, trying to pay attention.

"Sunflora, Dugtrio, and Bidoof, you three will investigate Crystal Cave. Be forewarned that Primals there are not only powerful, but fairly intelligent as well. Avoid Monster Houses at all costs."

"Yikes… sounds rough yup yup…."

"Don't worry Bidoof, we'll be fine!"

"We will succeed. Do not worry yourself."

With that the trio followed the pattern set by the others and left, heading for the cool crystalline caverns to the southeast.

"Lastly, Team Sky," Chatot continued, looking nervous, "We would like your Team to search the Northern Desert." A few shocked Pokémon squeaked in surprise. How could a rookie Team possibly survive there? "However, for this mission, you will be assisted by Team Ragnarok's Slasher. He knows the desert very well and can help you all make it through safely."

They nodded; Slasher was a good guy to have if they needed help. "Um… Chatot?"

"Yes Ragarth?"

"What dangers do you mean…?" _Because thinking of it… desert means sand… sand means Ground-Types… and Ground-Types have a Type-Advantage…_

Chatot's look was grim. Not a good sign. "Aside from the Primals living there… there are poison slicks, quicksand, and vicious sandstorms and twisters. That's why we're begging you to use caution in this." Chatot emphasized as much as possible on the cautionary part. Even Wigglytuff was gaining a fairly worried expression from this. Again, horrible sign.

"Don't worry," the black and gray Sandslash said calmly, "I know almost everything about the desert. They'll be safe as long as they listen to me." Aside from the impending doom caused by Team Sky's track record for actually listening, Slasher seemed pretty composed. Sevek started gaining a small sweat drop as Serenity puffed her fur and Ragarth and Stillbreeze both shook their heads. "…Just follow my lead." The young Team nodded, not very confident.

"Good luck Team Sky!" Some of the gathered Pokémon cheered.

"Come back alive, okay Totter Orb 'Dile!"

"The Pokémon here seem to really have confidence in your Team." Slasher commented, tone hard to figure out.

"Yeah, it's nice. Though I wish that nickname would go away…" Sevek said, highly embarrassed.

Ragarth decided to try figuring out what the Sandslash really meant by that. _The way he's saying that makes me think he's never gotten recognition before… But that can't be right. He's on a famous Team…_ The Cyndaquil was knocked out of his thoughts as Serenity poked him. "Huh?"

"Time to go Raggy," the Eevee said, pink eyes holding a faint smile. "Let's go find that Time Gear!" Giggling, she followed as the Team and Slasher climbed up the ladder to head for the desert. Ragarth followed last, still trapped in thoughts.

The group traveled quickly, not wanting to miss an opportunity to save the day! ...and the Time Gear (but mostly the day). Throughout the day they traveled until they reached a sea of hot, scalding sand and stone. The heat was intense, enjoyable for Ragarth but like a fish-fry to Sevek, who was starting to get agitated. The wind was non-existent, offering no help for the burning Totodile or the uncomfortable Teammates. All there was was sand, stone, and the evil burning orb in the clear sky known as the sun.

"Oh dear Arceus it's hot!" Sevek swore, already sweating.

"I don't know," Ragarth commented, "I think it's nice out here. No rain." He smiled as he saw his Leader scowl immaturely.

"I want rain though…"

"Oh, suck it uuup," Stillbreeze teased, using her leaf for shade.

"No fair!" Sevek whined, "You at least can get shade, I'm stuck dying out here!"

Slasher chuckled to himself over the kids' antics. They were fun to hang around and always entertaining. It'd be a shame when he'd eventually leave them… "Come on guys, we can't be wasting time now can we?"

"Right!" With that, the quintet continued into the burning death-trap.

Naturally the desert was extraordinarily dangerous. Aside from the insane amount of heat that was quickly driving Sevek crazy, if they hadn't paid attention to Slasher they would eaten Grimy Food and slipped into quicksand… much more often.

This was perhaps one of the only times in Sevek's life that he was a fairly angry Totodile. There was no happiness or even remote trace of happiness in the tiny crocodile today. Ironically his day was all stormy. "Stupid heat… has to mess up everything… I _hate_ it!"

"Get _over_ it Sevek!" Stillbreeze snapped, lack of moisture in the air finally getting to the Grass-Type as well.

"Make me! It's _hot_, I'm _hungry_, and I'm _thirsty_!"

"Just _eat_ something already then! Stop complaining!"

"_Fine!_ Maybe I _will!_" Sevek grumbled as he found something purple and interesting nearby. _Is that food?_ "Hey!" he exclaimed while picking up the food-shaped ball of purple. "Hurray! Food!"

"Wait… what? Where?" Stillbreeze immediately turned to him, belly growling.

"No way! This is mine!" Sevek yelled and stuffed the blob into his mouth. A few seconds later he was spitting as much as possible out and trying desperately to find something to kill the rancid taste that would haunt his taste buds forever. "Ew! Ew ew ew ew ew!"

His friends just stared. Was he really that stupid? Slasher was taken off-guard by this and awkwardly stated, "Uh… that's Grimy Food… it's disgusting… don't eat it. It's covered in grimy slime and horrible to eat. Try this instead." He handed Sevek a small container of Oran Berry juice, which was quickly gulped down, temporarily pacifying the Totodile.

"Ah! Thanks Slasher!" The Totodile smiled, storm clouds gone for now. "You're right. That stuff _was _really disgusting."

"Uh… yeah." A sweat drop appeared on Slasher's face that was definitely not caused by the scorching heat. _How did he survive the Warzone again?_ His thought was interrupted by Serenity screaming. When he looked up a sand tornado was being created on the horizon. "Hey! We need to get to shelter! NOW!" With a panicked start they fled, getting buffeted by the storm as they made their way to a rocky barrier where they would be safe.

"Pah!" Sevek spat, trying to get the sand out of his mouth and out of his eyes, "I can see why someone'd put a Time Gear here… too much sand… too much heat… way too hard to make progress!"

Serenity nodded, trying to get the scorching sand out of her fur. She had some luck, but not enough to make her comfortable at all. The others nodded in agreement. It seemed perfect. Slasher shook his head. "No guarantees here friends." That brought groans and whining from Sky's members. "Heh…"

"Hey! The storm's stopping!" Sevek merrily notified them. "Let's go." As he started to move he began having a weird feeling. Looking up he noticed his friends were growing. "Uh… guys? Why are you growing?"

Slasher immediately instructed Stillbreeze to use vines around Sevek's arm and torso in order to fish him out of the quicksand. "That is quicksand. Let's avoid more of that…"

_Yikes! I almost killed myself!_ Sevek thought, slightly unnerved. From that point on, he left leading the mission to Slasher, not wanting to end up in more quicksand.

"Sevek you idiot!" Stillbreeze yelled, hitting her Leader repeatedly with a vine, "You could've _died!_"

"_Owww…_ I knoooow…" He whined in return. "Don't remind meee..." At least now they could rest easy. Sevek was now safely behind Slasher and it appeared that no one was in any danger at the moment. Better to follow the expert.

The battles with the Primals and desert terrain left our heroes utterly exhausted by the time they reached their destination, the depths of the desert, also known to Team Sky as the "Evil Place of Heat and Doom."

"Urf… that… was horrible…" Serenity slightly whined. "I hope we don't need to do that again." The other members of Team Sky nodded in agreement and Slasher just chuckled.

"It's not so bad when you grow up here." His remark was met with silence, especially from the slowly roasting Totodile.

"So now what?" Sevek asked, looking around with curious misery. "All that's around us is desert and sand and rocks and quicksand… and I'm _NOT_ jumping in that again…"

It seemed to be true. Aside from the torturous heat, the endless sea of sand, the jagged stones impaling the sea of murder around them (or sand, if you asked anyone but Sevek), and the quicksand whirlpools (which they had to admit looked pretty cool, except Sevek) that they wanted to stay _far_ far away from, there was nothing in the area.

"_Please_ tell me this wasn't for nothing!" Sevek whined, upset by the utter defeat he felt and the horror of everything.

"It looks like that…" Ragarth quietly mentioned a little depressively.

"I told you it wasn't necessarily going to be here… we just guessed."

Frustration and anger hit the young Team like a hammer to the head, especially to Sevek who was groaning and sitting down.

"So… now what?" Serenity tried timidly, a little saddened by the lack of progress.

Sighing, Ragarth, now covered in sand and rather uncomfortable, said silently, "…we head back… I guess…" The Cyndaquil was discouraged by the complete and utter failure of the day. They wasted time… so much time!

Sevek finally got up and kicked a large rock in anger, hurting his foot and hopping around in pain, "Gah! Stupid desert!" The others nodded sorrowfully before sitting down to rest. They would need the rest to make it _back_ through the desert and home to the guild. "This sucks! We weren't able to do _anything!_"

"Sevek! Shut_ up_ already!" Stillbreeze shouted as a sudden dizzy feeling came over her, causing her to fall into the scalding sand.

* * *

"_So this is as far as it goes?" The voice came from a shadowy Staravia who glanced around, seeing nothing of interest in the area… just what any Pokémon would expect: sand, stones, and frozen quicksand whirlpools. Nothing of interest in the gray-scaled universe._

_ Oh, granted it was definitely the Northern Desert… but nothing moved. The sky and sand… cold, gray, and dead. Even the whirlpools of sand dared not move in this land of death._

_ "Maybe," his partner, the shadowy Grovyle, commented. "Let me trigger a vision first." He waited a small while and appeared slightly dizzy, recovering within seconds. "Yep. It's here."_

_ "Where?"_

_ "Beneath the frozen sands… come on. We need to check out things for when we return."_

_ "Yes Shadow."_

_ With that, the two Pokémon, Shadow and Axle as it appeared, started looking for useful methods of getting safely under the sands. After a bit of searching, Shadow stopped, staring at the very large frozen whirlpool in the center of the desert's depths. "That's it. It has to be."_

_ "You're crazy! If you're wrong… we'll suffocate!" Axle yelled, looking at Shadow as if his friend were insane. His feathers slightly ruffled in panic._

_ "It's either this or report to Night that we can't figure out a simple puzzle. I'm almost positive it leads to a cavern… which will lead to the former location of the Time Gear." Shadow seemed calm, watching his Teammate's expression with a look that soothed him and told him 'trust me.'_

_ Looking between the frozen whirlpool and Shadow, Axle finally decided that it would be best to trust his friend and Leader. "Alright. Let's do this!"_

_ A slight smile appeared on the Grovyle's face as he walked to the edge of the whirlpool. With a carefully calculated jump he landed in the center. It appeared to be a large effort on his part to avoid struggling as gravity and the sands of time sucked him underground. After Shadow fell through, Axle dove down into the sand, ignoring every instinct to flee that screamed at him and finally followed Shadow's suit, hitting a sandy base of an underground cavern. The bird groaned, having landed awkwardly on his front and stood back up, amazed by all he saw._

_ "Y-you were right! Haha!"_

_ "Naturally," the Grovyle smirked. "Let's go." With that, they continued on into the new dungeon under the sands of the dead desert._

* * *

Stillbreeze blinked and recovered. By the time she came-to, she'd realized that the boys had set her up against a larger stone and were looking at her inquisitively. She ignored that for a little while in favor of thinking back through her vision. Finally a smirk came over her face as she spoke her next words, "Hey, we're not done here yet."

"Ugh… it's not like there's anything here 'Breeze. Just sand and heat and disappointment and anger and quicksand and Grimy Food…"

"Just shut up and listen Sevek," she growled, silencing her Leader effectively.

"Another vision?" The Chikorita nodded at this.

"Vision?" Slasher asked, a little surprised.

"Yep. Sometimes she can see stuff that either has happened or will happen," Sevek explained with a small smile, "It's pretty cool."

Slasher nodded, thinking to himself for a little while in silence. Then he spoke, "So what was it?"

"This is the right spot for a Time Gear. We just need to jump into the whirlpool over there." She pointed at the largest quicksand whirlpool with a foot and almost burst out laughing at Sevek's reaction.

"_No way! Nuh-uh! NOT _happening!" He glared at the whirlpool with wary hatred.

"We have to if we want to save the Time Gear!"

"…Still don't like it…"

"Still doesn't change the facts."

"Uh… you _are_ sure about this… right…?"

"Almost positive."

"If you're wrong 'Breeze… we'll die…"

"Then I'm not wrong."

"…alright. Let's jump!" Sevek closed his eyes and ran to the edge, jumping near the center of the quicksand and slowly sinking, panicking the entire time. "Ack! I changed my mind! _HELP!_" By the time he screamed that, however, sand was already getting into his mouth.

Slasher followed along with the others, ignoring the painfully slow suction of their bodies under the surface of the planet. Gravity and suction were their saviors, eventually throwing them face-first into the sandy-stoney ground. Multiple cries were heard as they ran face first into pain.

"Aaahhh!"

"Sevek. You're not in quicksand anymore." Stillbreeze lightly whacked his head with a vine to snap the spazzy Totodile out of his horror.

"…Oh. And _ow!_"

She rolled her eyes and nodded to the only way forward, the opening in the wall of dark stone. "Let's go already. We have a Time Gear to protect." With nods and hopes up, the group continued into the dungeon beneath the sands.

For the Exploration Team, this dungeon was far more preferable than the prior one. No sandstorms to ruin their time and close to no poison either. It was a miracle below the surface in all honesty.

This dungeon was cool and dark, lacking the natural sunlight from the surface world. Darkness and those Primals whose love was the dark world lurked here. However, with Slasher's aid they were easily subdued.

Traveling through this dungeon was fairly easy, if the blinding darkness and sand slides were ignored. The cool dungeon was finally bringing the old cheerfulness back to everyone on the Team. Even Sevek was overjoyed when he figured out there would never be any quicksand around.

Soon the group made it to a safe zone of nothingness. Primals were gone, danger absent, impending doom nonexistent. Absolutely nothing. Definitely a Midpoint.

"We'll break here," Slasher said, "don't want to risk a battle while we're tired."

Sevek nodded cheerfully and found a cozy spot to rest. The others yawned and did the same. "You know, I think I know this place. Like… I remember it from something… Ah, oh well. I'm sure it's nothing." He said with a smile. The others cocked their heads in confusion.

"What the heck, Sev?"

"Is your head okay?"

"Sev?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I think I remember being here… but everything was frozen. So maybe it's just one of those weird daydreams I have from time to time." He smiled and laughed at the thought.

"Yeah… maybe so…" The young Chikorita was in thought, thinking back on her vision. _It _was_ real… but why was everything like what Sevek remembers? It makes no sense… and why do I keep seeing Shadow in my visions? It doesn't make any sense at all…_

"'Breeze? You okay?"

"Oh. Yeah, I'm fine."

"Let's get going kids. Gotta protect the Time Gear, remember?" Slasher said as he rose from his sitting position and started walking over to the secondary crevice. The kids quickly followed him and continued on towards the depths of the dungeon.

The darkness of the dungeon increased the further down into the earth the Team went. The world of sand, stone, and darkness quickly became a world of darkness and stone. Serenity stuck near Ragarth while he stayed close to Stillbreeze and Sevek, both he and Serenity a little afraid of the inky blackness of this dungeon and the demons that lurked within it.

The creatures lurking in this darkness were powerful and vile, truly insane. Travel became difficult and unnerving as they would pass glowing red eyes as they walked. Ragarth and Serenity felt their fur stand on edge as the eyes followed them. The endless darkness made it impossible to attack accurately, leaving everyone with plenty of injuries and terror.

But somehow, through a miracle of Arceus, the group managed to make it to the pit of the Arceus-forsaken place. The darkness ended. Instead of more evil and dread, there was light and hope. The light shone as brilliantly as the moon, illuminating the area—a cave apparently—in a pulsing, green-blue light. Stalagmites and stalactites spiked everywhere, dripping water with slight _drip drips_. Some of these formations, combined with water sliding down from top to bottom added to the calm, serene environment. The lake, which covered the bulk of the cave's ground, reflected the light, which was brightest close to the center. Hopefully that light was the Time Gear.

"Amazing!" Sevek exclaimed, exhausted from his harsh trip down into the abyss. "It _is_ the Time Gear right?"

Slasher nodded, the same amazement in his own eyes. "I've seen Time Gears before but they were never as radiant or wonderful as this!" He was excited, the mission far from his mind, at least for the moment.

"So pretty!" Serenity smiled, staying close to Ragarth. "Don't you think so?" Her friend nodded, speechless from the wondrous view before him.

"Let's get a closer look!" Sevek ran over to the rocky edge to jump into the water but was incapable of the jump. A psychic power forced him back and bashed him into a stalagmite. "Ow!"

"Stay away from the Time Gear you thieves!" A female voice cried out, startling everyone with the intense echo and ferocity. As the fierce female voice called out, the light of the room dimmed considerably.

"Hey! We're _not_ thieves! We're _protecting_ the Time Gear!" Stillbreeze glared and shouted back, obviously angry.

"A likely story," The voice replied coldly and clearly mistrusting. "What evidence do you have to offer?"

"Evidence?" Um… what about Uxie? We met him and didn't take his Time Gear…"

"Liar! Uxie's Time Gear is gone! My brother is probably trapped in time because of you!" The voice shrieked in pure anger. What? Uxie's Time Gear was gone? How? They had just been there a little while ago!

"It's no good…" Slasher calmly stated. "The guardian doesn't believe us. We might have to fight…" Clearly the dark Sandslash was unhappy about that. He'd be fighting his own desert guardian after all.

"But that'll just make us look like the bad guys!" Sevek exclaimed.

"It's the only way to get our story heard unfortunately. Trust me. I don't want to do this at all." Unfortunately it had to be done. None of the group was happy about it though. But gathering together they awaited the guardian's arrival. The battle had to be done.

As if on cue, the light intensified into a blinding shock, throwing all of the Pokémon into surprise and ocular agony. The guardian appeared as they cried out in surprise, slamming them all against the ground and the stalagmites with powerful psychic energy.

"Urk…" Sevek gasped as the air was knocked out of him. _Please don't be big! Please don't be big!_ The Totodile was practically praying this to Arceus, afraid of yet another gigantic Legendary battle. When his eyes opened he saw his prayer was answered, it was just a tiny little thing!

The guardian was another small fair, much like Uxie. Her face was pink and body gray. Her eyes shone with yellow fury, almost like the sun that was so far away from them all. The gems on her tails shone and reflected the Time Gear's light.

"Please, we're not here to steal the Time Gear!"

"Don't give me that crap!" She shouted, enraged. "Uxie trusted you and now he's gone! His Time Gear was stolen as well! _You're_ to blame!" The venom in her tone could've brought down a Nidoking had it been tangible.

"Just who are you to doubt us?" Stillbreeze glared, her fiery yellow eyes meeting the guardian's with a burning passion. "You don't even know who we are!"

The guardian glared with even more hostility and growled, "Quiet you! I'm Mesprit! Defender of the desert Time Gear! You won't deceive me! You'll never take my Time Gear!" With that she attacked, eyes glowing white as she blasted them all with more psychic energy.

"Urk. Maybe not your best choice to tick Mesprit off, Stillbreeze!" Slasher groaned as he stood back up, slightly wincing.

"Whatever! If it's a fight she wants it's a fight she'll get!" She growled in response, readying a Magical Leaf.

"You've got spunk, to say the least," Slasher smirked, "Good."

"Oh joy…" Ragarth groaned as he, Serenity, and Sevek all got to their feet unsteadily.

The fight was brief, with the gathered Pokémon joining their powers in powerful combinations to drain the fairy's power as quickly as possible, not wanting to prolong the battle. Serenity's Helping Hand attack boosted their strengths and made the fight as short as possible. Finally, after a few rounds of back and forth attacks, the small pink and gray fairy lacked the energy to even float, falling on the ground, defeated.

"Urk… I won't let you… steal another Time Gear… never…" Mesprit growled, refusing to listen, despite being so badly worn out.

"That's fine. We're not here to steal from you, Mesprit." Slasher's blue eyes met Mesprit's golden ones, finally bringing a calm to her. "We're here to help you defend the Time Gear. Only a fool would steal one."

Mesprit blinked, surprised. It was as if she'd never heard this before (even though that'd been the point stressed repeatedly the entire time). "Honest?"

Sevek quickly covered Stillbreeze's mouth, knowing she would have a sarcastic remark that would only bring more fighting. "Yep. Honest." He smiled and moved back over to help the fairy up, offering an Oran Berry. "Want one?"

"You're… weird. No thank you." Mesprit seemed very confused by his gesture and wouldn't let her pride be injured by accepting their help.

"Aw! That's just Sevy for you! Heehee!" The Eevee's statement was met with smiles from everyone in her small group. It was true though.

"…Thank you. But I think I'll be fine."

A creeping shadow approached them just then. "Looks like I won't have to battle. Thank you." Another shadow followed the first, seemingly hovering over that one as well. The voice… Slasher, Sevek, and Stillbreeze looked shocked; recognizing the voice… the thief was there.

As the luminous cave enveloped their bodies in light, the wicked shadows were shown for their true selves: the black and blue Grovyle of darkness and evil along with the golden tan Staravia appeared. Shadow and Axle were there to cause havoc. Panic reigned and pulses raced, the wicked villain that even Team Ragnarok couldn't catch was there. He was going to kill them and take the Time Gear, no doubt about it. The two villains calmly walked over toward the edge of the underground lake.

Shadow's body was scarred all over, presumably from battles against the forces of good. He wore a tan belt with pockets all around it, probably for holding his small items, maybe even Time Gears. The belt went from his left shoulder to right hip. The Grovyle radiated a cool aloofness and complete confidence in himself. "Unfortunately we need to turn out the lights down here."

"Never!" Mesprit growled, old fury returning.

"I'm afraid there's no other option. You can have Time restored here soon enough."

"Liar!" Stillbreeze growled. "Don't think you can just ignore us!"

Shadow was very unamused. "Look kids, you're injured. Mesprit is already past her limit. You're near yours. Don't push it or you'll end up hurting yourselves." His voice was extremely bored and monotonous. Clearly he didn't care about the words leaving his mouth in the least.

"It's not worth it to fight us." Axle echoed, much kinder than his boss.

Slasher calmly walked over, claws ready, and stated, "we'll force you out of here you criminals."

With a speedy display of leaves and claws, clashing and dodging, and finally a Leaf Blade of extreme power, Slasher was taken down. He stayed on the ground, clearly in pain. Shadow was completely unharmed, having dodged every attack and countering as powerfully as possible. Even with that fight out of the way he still had the infuriating bored look on his face. "You've grown faster Slasher, but not nearly fast enough to make up for the poor Type-Matchup."

"Gah… when Inferno hears about this… He'll rip you apart."

"_If_ Inferno catches up that'd be a miracle in itself." The cocky response infuriated the beaten Sandslash.

"Gah…"

"Slasher!" Sevek ran over to him, "You okay?"

"Fine… We need to stop him…"

Nodding, the Totodile replied, "We'll do it." Turning back to Shadow and Axle he growled, "You're going down you Primal!"

"You think you're going to defeat me? You don't know how wrong you are boy." The bored tone of voice returned. They were no threat to him; he had no reason to treat them as one either. This fueled Sevek's anger as he charged at the cocky Grovyle. His Team followed shortly to give their help.

Sevek's fangs turned icy as he tried to land an Ice Fang on Shadow and maybe crush him with his powerful jaws as well. This failed when Shadow's luminescent and blue Leaf Blade slashed him, sending him flying back into a rocky wall and fainting him.

Serenity's Iron Tail never met its target and she, instead, was knocked back into her injured Leader. "Ah! Urk… sorry Sevy…" The others met an all too similar fate, being easily overpowered and knocked beyond their battling limits.

The Grovyle yawned and walked past them, over to the underground lake. He spoke in a condescending tone "you're all beyond your limits. Don't push yourselves. It's a hopeless endeavor to stop me. Your battle style was bland and much like a Tauros, bull-headed. You'll always lose against me if you're not creative."

"We don't have time to spare." His feathered friend said, worried.

"We have enough time. Don't worry." With that the Grovyle jumped in the water and swam over to the Time Gear, snatched the luminous beauty, and returned to shore. "Let's go."

"What about them?"

Clearly annoyed by this, Shadow replied, "Fine! Let's just get _out_ before we're stuck in Time!" Shadow took the heavier Pokémon while Axle flew the smaller ones to safety.

Upon waking, Team Sky found themselves in a safe zone of the Northern Desert being rescued by Dusknoir and Inferno.

* * *

_**Review for more! Also, poll on profile.**_

_**Sevek, Stillbreeze, and Ragarth: Level 26**_

_**Serenity: Level 24**_

_**Slasher: Approximately level 42**_


End file.
